Obervellach is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.

The traditional gold and silver mining area from the 12th century onwards was a possession of the comital House of Gorizia (Görz); in 1164 their ministeriales took their residence at Falkenstein Castle high above the valley.

After an armed conflict over the inheritance of late Count Ulrich II of Celje, in which the Count Leonhard of Gorizia and his brother John II were defeated by the forces of Emperor Frederick III, the area of Obervellach in 1460 finally was incorporated into the Inner Austrian possessions of the ruling House of Habsburg.

A notable Renaissance altar was installed about 1520 at the behest of the Imperial captain Christoph Frankopan (Frangipani), brother-in-law of the Salzburg prince-archbishop Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg; it includes several pieces by the Dutch painter Jan van Scorel (1495–1562).

The Tauern Railway line was inaugurated in 1909, with a station near the village of Kaponig high above the Obervellach centre, which was accessible by a cable car until 1975.