(The Old High German term Wörth or Werder, like the Slovene Otok, denotes a piece of land surrounded by water.)

The church served for the translation of the relics of Saints Primus and Felician and played an important role within the Christian mission in the Duchy of Carinthia.

In about 1150 Bishop Otto of Freising founded a college of canons here, and had the small Winterkirche chapel built beside the collegiate church.

The Freising Prince-Bishops gradually lost their influence in Carinthia, and about 1500 the college finally became an annex of Millstatt Abbey, led from 1598 by Jesuits.

Today's parish church Saints Primus and Felician stands on the highest point of the peninsula, with the neighbouring Winterkirche beneath it.