Lavant, Fluss#

Lavant, River, Carinthia, northern tributary of River Drau/Drava, 64 km long, very high water quality in the upper part of the river; average water flow 12.4 m3/Sec. near Krottendorf. The Lavant river rises on the Zirbitzkogel mountain (2,396 m, Seetal Alps) in Styria, flows through the eastern part of Carinthia between Saualpe mountains and Koralpe mountains and empties into River Drau near Lavamuend. The narrow upper Lavant valley, which includes the 10 km long gorge of the Twimberg Graben and extends till St. Gertraud (503 m), is rich in forests and grassland. Reichenfels (809 m) is a former mining town. The open, densely populated lower Lavant valley is called the "paradise of Carinthia" due to ist mild climate and flourishing agriculture (wheat, fruit); Wolfsberg is the economic centre of the valley (463 m). One of the few cone-shaped basalt mountains of Austria is situated near St. Paul (412 m). The Lavant valley is part of the district of Wolfsberg (area 960 km2, pop. 56,303), the Zeltweg- Lavamuend railway in the Lavant valley is connected with the Carinthian railway network via the Jauntal railway (St. Paul- Bleiburg). The Suedautobahn motorway runs through the Lavant valley from Twimberg to St. Andrae.