The climate is rather severe, and the southern part is exposed to the cold north-eastern wind, known as the Bora. The mean annual temperature at Laibach is 48.4° F., and the rainfall amounts to 72 ins. Of the total area only 14.8% is under cultivation, and the crops do not suffice for the needs of the province; forests occupy 44.4%, 17.2% are meadows, 15.7% are pastures, and 1.17% of the soil is covered by vineyards. Large quantities of flax are grown, while the timber trade is of considerable importance. Fish and game are plentiful, and the silkworm is bred in the warmer districts. The principal mining product is mercury, extracted at Idria, while iron and copper ore, zinc and coal are also found. The industry is not well developed, but the weaving of linen and lace is pursued as a household industry.
Carniola had in 1900 a population of 508,348, which corresponds to 132 inhabitants per sq. m. Nearly 95% were Slovenes and 5% Germans, while 99% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. The local diet, of which the bishop of Laibach is a member _ex officio_, is composed of thirty-seven members, and Carniola sends eleven deputies to the Reichsrat at Vienna. For administrative purposes the province is divided into eleven districts and one autonomous municipality, Laibach (pop. 36,547), the capital. Other important places are Oberlaibach (5882), Idria (5772), Gurkfeld (5294), Zirknitz (5266), Adelsberg (3636), Neumarktl (2626), Krainburg (2484) and Gottschee (2421).
Carniola derives its modern name from the Slavonic word _Krajina_ (frontier). During the Roman Empire it formed part of Noricum and Pannonia. The Slavonic population settled here during the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century. Conquered by Charlemagne, the most of the district was bestowed on the duke of Friuli; but in the 10th century the title of margrave of Carniola began to be borne by a family resident in the castle of Kieselberg near Krainburg. Various parts of the present territory were, however, held by other lords, such as the duke of Carinthia and the bishop of Freising. Towards the close of the 14th century all the separate portions had come by inheritance or bequest into the hands of Rudolph IV. of Austria, who took the title of duke of Carniola; and since then the duchy has remained a part of the Austrian possessions, except during the short period from 1809 to 1813, when it was incorporated with the French Illyrian Provinces. In 1849 it became a separate crown-land.