Vellacher Kochna

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Head of the Vellacher Kotschna valley

The Vellacher Kotschna ( Slov. Belska Kočna ) is a high valley in the Steiner Alps and forms the southernmost tip of Carinthia and Austria . It is located in the municipality of Eisenkappel-Vellach , the Vellach flows through it and has been a nature reserve since 1959 ( list entry ).

The Vellacher Kotschna merges in the north into the Kotschnatal, which leads to Bad Vellach . On the remaining three sides it is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is the Mrzla gora ( 2203  m ). In the south, the Seeländer Sattel ( 2034  m ) lead into the Seeland ( Jezersko ) and the Sanntaler Sattel ( 1999  m ) into the Logar Valley ( Logarska dolina ), both located in Slovenia .

Geologically, the area consists of Triassic limestone . In the past there was a cinnabar mine near the Jenk Alm .

Flora and fauna

The valley floor is dominated by spruce forest, the gray alder ( Alnus incana ) grows in watery places . The common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) grows on the valley slopes . The beech forest changes into a loosened larch forest ( Larix europaea ). This also forms the tree line. Interlocking with the forest or in front of it, there is a crooked wood belt with mountain pine ( Pinus mugo ) and lashed alpine rose ( Rhododendron hirsutum ). There are also upholstered sedge turf (Caricetum firmae) as well as limestone rubble and limestone crevice companies.

The Carniolan lily ( Lilium carniolicum ) reaches its northern limit of distribution in southern Carinthia

A number of species are endemic to the southeastern Alps or have their northern limit of distribution in the Karawanken. Floristically interesting species include:

In terms of animal species, mention should be made of the small tower snail , the only place where it was found within the Alps, the scorpion Euscorpius gamma (formerly known as the caravan form of Euscorpius germanus ) and the smooth snake .

Nature reserve

The Vellacher Kotschna was declared a nature reserve in 1959 (LGBl. No. 34/1959, 19/1960, announced again in LGBl. No. 1/2003). The reserve covers 582 ha.

literature

  • Helmut Hartl, Hans Sampl, Ralf Unkart: Carinthia's gems. National parks, nature reserves, landscape reserves, natural monuments. 2nd, amended edition. Kärntner Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Klagenfurt 1993, ISBN 3-85391-092-0 , p. 168.

Web links

Commons : Vellacher Kotschna  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pavel Zdovc: Slovenska krajevna imena na Koroškem Avstrijskem. = The Slovenian place names in Carinthia (= Razprave. 21, ISSN  0560-2920 ). Extended Edition. Slovenska Akademija Znanosti i Umetnosti, Ljubljana 2010.
  2. ↑ Christian and Brigitte Komposch: The Scorpions of Carinthia. In: Carinthia II . Year 190/110, Klagenfurt 2000, pp. 247–268 ( PDF (13 MB) on ZOBODAT ).

Coordinates: 46 ° 23 ′ 18 "  N , 14 ° 34 ′ 7"  E