Carinthian Slovenes in the context of 1920 Carinthian plebiscite

Carinthia (German: Kärnten [ˈkɛʁntn̩] ; Slovene: Koroška [kɔˈɾóːʃka] or avstrijska Koroška; Italian: Carinzia [kaˈrintsja]) is the southernmost and least densely populated Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main Ridge, near the Plöcken Pass. The main language is Austrian German, with its non-standard dialects belonging to the Southern Bavarian group; Carinthian Slovene dialects, forms of a South Slavic language that predominated in the southeastern part of the region up to the first half of the 20th century, are now spoken by a small minority in the area.

Carinthia's main industries are tourism, electronics, engineering, forestry, and agriculture.

Klagenfurt am Wörthersee (/ˈklɑːɡənfʊərt/; German: [ˌklaːɡn̩fʊʁt ʔam ˈvœʁtɐzeː] ; Slovene: Celovec; Austro-Bavarian: Klognfuat; Carinthian Slovene: Clouvc), usually known as simply Klagenfurt (English: /ˈklɑːɡənfʊərt/ KLAH-gən-foort), is the capital and largest city of the Austrian state of Carinthia, as well as of the historical region of Carinthia (including Slovenian Carinthia).

With a population of 105,443 (1 January 2025), it is the sixth-largest city in Austria after Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. The city is the bishop's seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and home to the University of Klagenfurt, the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences and the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music. Klagenfurt is considered the cultural centre of the Carinthian Slovenes (Slovene: koroški Slovenci; German: Kärntner Slowenen), one of Austria's indigenous minorities.

The Carinthian dialect group (koroška narečna skupina, koroščina) is a group of closely related dialects of Slovene, a South Slavic language. The Carinthian dialects are spoken by Carinthian Slovenes in Austria, in Slovenian Carinthia, and in the northwestern parts of Slovenian Styria along the upper Drava Valley, in the westernmost areas of Upper Carniola on the border with Italy, and in some villages in the Province of Udine in Italy.

Carantanians (Latin: Quarantani, Slovene: Karantanci) were a Slavic people of the Early Middle Ages (Latin: Sclavi qui dicuntur Quarantani, or "Slavs called Carantanians"), living in the principality of Carantania, later known as Carinthia, which covered present-day southern Austria and parts of Slovenia. They are considered ancestors of modern Slovenes, particularly Carinthian Slovenes.

In the High Middle Ages, the term Carantanians and Carinthians were used interchangeably and denoted both the inhabitants of the bilingual Slavic-German Duchy of Carinthia, as well as South Slavs living within the borders of the Holy Roman Empire (that is, the ancestors of present-day Slovenes and Istrian Croats).