Kanzelkogel

The Kanzelkogel is a low hill rising about 250 metres above the Mur valley near Graz in Styria. It lies just 300 metres from the city boundary and forms part of a protected landscape area. The steep western flank shows bare rock faces cut by the Mur’s breakthrough valley. Archaeologists prize the summit for its copper-age settlement remains. Excavations uncovered tools, beads, pottery and traces of early copper smelting linked to the Schwarzmeerküste. The finds span the Lasinja and Mondsee cultures, making this the largest copper-age complex in the South-Eastern Alps. Visitors reach the hill via a single marked path that once led to the summit. The peak itself has been lowered by quarrying, removing the Schneiderloch cave and part of the view. The remaining slopes still carry oak woods protected under Natura 2000.