Different country, same trees: view across the Yugoslav border in 1940 © Lamprecht

A / K: Topotheque Eisenkappel-Vellach online

The southernmost community in Austria has gone online with its Topotheque. The double community Eisenkappel-Vellach, which was created in 1964 by merging the two original communities, is a place of changes, which can be traced through the pictures in the Topotheque. In the former mining community, after the dwindling profitability of iron mining, the timber industry was promoted, alongside which tourism played an important role early on. An impressive example of the early mechanization of timber transport is the Rijawitza „Bremsbahn“, a single-track funicular with a siding, of which several views and a detailed description can be found in the Topotheque. Interior views of the Hotel Bad Vellach from the early days of tourism can be admired, showing how a guest room from the beginning of the 20th century with a stove and a sink was still far removed from today‘s standard of a hotel. From the various objects shown in the Eisenkappel-Vellach Topotheque, in addition to the rail nails of the Vellach Valley Railway, which was removed in 1971, a special kind of contemporary document should be pointed out: who would pick up a plastic bag from the 1980s and document it with a photo? A great piece of everyday history that often slips out of our hands far too quickly!