with a handful of men
met with a heroic death defending the place against an overwhelming
French force in the campaign of 1809. A similar fate overtook, on the
same day, the 18th of May 1809, Captain Hermann von Hermannsdorf and his
small garrison, who were defending the Predil fort. This fort covers the
road which traverses the Predil Pass in the Julian Alps and is the
principal road leading from Carinthia to the Coastland. Commemorative
monuments have been erected in both places. The Gailthal Alps end with
the Dobratsch or Villacher Alp (7107 ft.), situated to the south-west of
Villach (q.v.), which is celebrated as one of the finest views in the
whole eastern Alps. South of Hermagor, the principal place of the Gail
valley, is the chain of mountains which is famous as being the only
place where the beautiful _Wulfenia Carinthiaca_ is found. The highest
peaks in the Karawankas are the Grosse Mittagskogel (7033 ft.), the Och
Obir (7023 ft.) and the Petzen (6934 ft.). The Ursula Berg (5563 ft.)
ends the group of the Karawankas, which are continued by the Steiner
Alps.

The principal river is the Drave, which flows from west to east through
the length of the duchy, and receives in its course the waters of all
the other streams, except the Fella, which reaches the Adriatic by its
junction with the Tagliamento. Its principal tributaries are the Gail on
the right, and the Moll, the Lieser, the Gurk with the Glan, and the
Lavant on the left. Carinthia possesses a great number of Alpine lakes,
which, unlike the other Alpine lakes, lie in the longitudinal valleys.
The principal lakes are: the Millstatter-see (8-1/2 sq. m. in extent,
908 ft. deep, at an altitude of 1902 ft.), the Worther-see (17 sq. m. in
extent, 212 ft. deep, at an altitude of 1438 ft.), the Ossiach-see
(10-1/2 sq. m. in extent, 150 ft. deep, at an altitude of 1599 ft.),
and the elongated Weissen-see (4-1/2 m. long, 309 ft. deep, at an
altitude of 3037 ft.).

The climate is severe in the north and north-west parts, but the south
and south-east districts are milder, while the most favoured part is the
Lavant valley. Of the total area only 13.71% is arable land, 10.50% is
occupied by meadows and gardens, 5.18% by pastures, while 44.24% is
covered by forests, almost exclusively pine-forests. Cattle-rearing is
well developed, and the horses bred in Carinthia enjoy a good
reputation. The mineral wealth of Carinthia is great, and consists in
lead, iron, zinc and co