Ferlach is the southernmost town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in 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...

, about 17 km south of the Carinthian

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...

 capital Klagenfurt

Klagenfurt

-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...

. It is situated in the Rosental/Rož Valley of the Drava

Drava

Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...

 River, at the northern slope of the Karawanken

Karawanken

Karavanke or Karawanken is an Alpine mountain range on the border between Slovenia and Austria. With a total length of 120 km, the Karavanke chain is one of the longest ranges in Europe....

 mountain range. The commune consists of the Katastralgemeinden of Ferlach (Borovlje), Kappel an der Drau (Kapla ob Dravi), Kirschentheuer (Kožentavra), Unterloibl (Podljublj), Waidisch (Bajdiše), Unterferlach (Medborovnica), Glainach (Glinje), Seidolach (Ždovlje) and Windisch Bleiberg (Slovenji Plajberg). According to the 2001 census 8.3% 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...

.

Village	Number of people 1991	Percent of Slovenes 1991	Percent of Slovenes 1951
Bodental/Poden	115	53.9%	83.3%
Loibltal/Brodi	70	51.4%	68.2%
Strugarjach/Strugarje	18	61.6%	94.1%
W.Bleiberg/Slovenji Plajberk	124	66.9%	87.3%
Waidisch/Bajdiše	93	37.6%	44.5%
Glainach/Glinje	114	12.3%	84.7%
Kappel a.D./Kapla ob Dravi	262	6.5%	30.3%
Tratten/Trata	82	15.9%	41.4%
Unterglainach/Vesca	32	37.5%	100%
Laak/Loka	41	14.6%	100%
Seidolach/Ždovlje	87	18.4%	74.5%
Dörfl/Kajže	18	55.6%	79.4%
Singerberg/Žingarica	9	11.1%	100%
Rauth/Rute	11	9.1%	100%
Görtschach/Goriče	230	8.8%	13.7%
Reßnig/Resnica	212	7.1%	44.8%
Kirschentheuer/Kožentavra	252	7.9%	45.6%
Otroutza/Otrovca	71	5.6%	41.0%
Strau/Struga	222	5.0%	28.5%
Unterloibl/Podljubelj	240	8.3%	22.1%

Ferlach was first mentioned as Vörelach in a 1246 deed, named after the Föhre (pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

) tree, or bor in Slovene. An ironworks

Ironworks

An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...

 and forging

Forging

Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: '"cold," "warm," or "hot" forging. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to 580 metric tons...

 site since the 15th century, Ferlach was known for its firearms manufacturers, the main armorer

Armorer

An armourer or armorer is a member of a military or police force who maintains and repairs small arms and weapons systems, with some duties resembling those of a civilian gunsmith....

 of the Habsburg Monarchy

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

. Ferlach received town privileges

Town privileges

Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...

 in 1930 and today is a centre for the production of hunting rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

s. The history of the town is depicted in its coat of arms: it features a pine tree with a cone, two crossed silver nails, and a rifle.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2003 elections:

• Social Democratic Party of Austria
  Social Democratic Party of Austria
  The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
  
  : 15
• Freedom Party of Austria
  Freedom Party of Austria
  The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
  
  : 6
• Austrian People's Party
  Austrian People's Party
  The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
  
  : 4
• 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...
  
  /Volilna skupnost: 2

Transportation

Ferlach lies at the junction of the Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...

 B85 Rosental Straße with B91 Loiblpass Straße (European route E652), running from Klagenfurt to the Loiblpass and 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...

. The Ferlach railway line went out of service in 1951.