Eisenkappel-Vellach is a market town

Market town

Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

ship (population 3,038) in and around the Vellach Valley of southeast Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 on the border of Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. It is in the Völkermarkt district

Völkermarkt (district)

Völkermarkt District is an administrative district in the Austrian State of Carinthia.-Municipalities:Völkermarkt is divided into 13 municipalities, of which 2 are towns and 3 market towns.-Towns:*Bleiburg...

 in the State of Carinthia

Carinthia (state)

Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...

. It consists of its center Bad Eisenkappel

Bad Eisenkappel

Bad Eisenkappel, also known as Eisenkappel, is a municipality located in the Vellach Valley in the Karawanken mountain range with the nearby peaks: Obir, Peca, and Olševa...

 and several small settlements located in small lateral valleys. These small settlements are: Blasnitzen, Ebriach, Koprein Petzen, Koprein Sonnseite, Leppen, Lobnig, Rechberg, Remschenig, Trögern, Unterort, Vellach, Weißenbach, and Zauchen.

According to the 2001 census 38% of the population are Carinthian Slovenes

Carinthian Slovenes

Carinthian Slovenes are the Slovene-speaking population group in the Austrian State of Carinthia. The Carinthian Slovenes send representatives to the National Ethnic Groups Advisory Council...

. Since March 2009, it has been run by a Carinthian Slovene mayor, Franc Jožef Smrtnik, and it is currently the only municipality in Carinthia with a mayor of the Slovene minority party Enotna Lista

Enotna Lista

The Unity List or EL seeks to represent the autochthonous Slovene minority in Carinthia. It came into existence in 1991, replacing the "Club of Slovenian Local Councillors" , which had existed as an initiative of local Slovenian party lists from various local councils...

.

Village	Number of people 1991	Percent of Slovenes 1991	Percent of Slovenes 1951
Blasnitzen/Zaplaznica	69	31.9%	28.1%
Ebriach/Obirsko	432	65.7%	80.2%
Koprein Petzen/Pod Peco	10	100%	92.3%
Koprein Sonnseite/Koprivna	48	89.6%	100%
Leppen/Lepena	214	68.7%	98.2%
Lobnig/Lobnik	139	82.0%	91.3%
Rechberg/Reberca	196	13.3%	46.0%
Replach/Replje	67	56.8%	81.7%
Remschenig/Remšenik	93	69.9%	95.1%
Trögern/Korte	36	86.1%	98.3%
Unterort/Podkraj	61	4.9%	31.4%
Vellach/Bela	339	52.5%	68.6%
Weissenbach/Bela	7	42.9%	55.5%
Zauchen/Suha	136	19.1%	52.8%
Bad Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla	1013	23.6%	80.2%