Fürstenfeld

Fürstenfeld lies in the lower Feistritz valley in Styria, close to the Burgenland border. The town sits on a river terrace two dozen metres above the valley floor, its elevation ranging from 255 to 300 metres. The Feistritz flows nearby, and the landscape is gentle here, unlike the steeper hills further east. Bad Blumau, Bad Loipersdorf and Bad Waltersdorf are spa towns within easy reach. Stegersbach in Burgenland is also close by, just across the border. The first people came to the area in the Neolithic age, and later the Romans passed through what became the Province of Noricum. From the 6th century Slavs settled here, followed by Bavarians in the 8th century. Fürstenfeld itself was founded around 1170 as a defence against the Hungarians, who then held the land that is now Burgenland. The town received its charter in 1215 and for centuries stood on the frontier. After the First World War the border moved east, but the town kept its name and its role. Today Fürstenfeld is known for its schools and its middle-sized industry. The song by Styrian band S.T.S. made the town’s name familiar in Austria and Germany. The town has twin towns in Germany, Hungary, Romania and Switzerland. Among its notable people are painter Karl Mader, cabaret artist Markus Hirtler, and members of S.T.S. like Helmut Röhrling and Günter Timischl. The writer Gregor von Rezzori studied here, and the town remembers Katharina Paldauf, a woman prosecuted as a witch in the 17th century.