The municipality lies 34 km (21 mi) in the west of Hermagor at the transition of the upper Gail Valley into the Lesachtal, between the Gailtal and Carnic Alps.

It is located at an important road junction: in the north, the highway leads up to Gailberg Saddle and the market town of Oberdrauburg, in the south to Plöcken Pass on the Carinthian border with the Carnian region of Friuli, Italy.

A Roman road ran over Plöcken Pass and led to the Noricum province, where a mansio named Loncium stood above present-day Mauthen (derived from German: Maut, "toll").

In the Middle Ages the remote region within the Duchy of Carinthia experienced economic growth due to the exploitation of iron ore, gold, silver and lead.

Wood processing, the production of heat exchangers, tourism in general and gastronomy in particular are important economic factors of the region.