Fürstenfeld (; ) is a small historic city in

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It is situated near the border with

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, which is why the city was originally founded. The town has become quite famous in Austria and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

because of the song by the same name by Styrian band S.T.S.. Fürstenfeld has a population of some 10,360 as of January 1st 2025. It was the centre of an eponymous district until the end of 2012, when it was merged with

Hartberg Hartberg () is a city in Styria, Austria and the district seat of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District. As of January 1st 2024, it has a population of 6,713 in an area of 21.58 km2. About 68 km up the A2 Autobahn is the large Styrian capital o ...

to form the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld. Fürstenfeld was founded around 1170 as a defense against the Hungarians (the present Austrian state of

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

was part of Hungary until after World War I, so Fürstenfeld used to lie right on the border) and received its town charter in 1215. Today it is known for its schools, middle-sized industry, and vicinity to several

spa towns A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

( Bad Blumau,

Bad Loipersdorf Bad Loipersdorf (; until 2019, ''Loipersdorf bei Fürstenfeld'') is a spa town in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria, Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the ...

and

Bad Waltersdorf Bad Waltersdorf is a market town in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld, Styria, Austria. Known for its thermal springs and landscapes, it is a health and wellness destination in the Thermenland Styria region. Bad Waltersdorfs population of 3 ...

in Styria, and

Stegersbach Stegersbach (, ) is a town in the district of Güssing in the Austrian state of Burgenland. Population International relations Its twin town is Northampton, Pennsylvania Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United S ...

in Burgenland).

Geography

Fürstenfeld is located in the lower valley near the

border. Elevation of the urban area ranges from 255m to approximately 300 m ü. A. The city`s central part sits on a river terrace two dozen meters above the valley floor.

History

First human traces in the Fürstenfeld area are attributed to the

Neolithic age The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

. There are numerous

Urnfield culture The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremation, cremating the dead and placin ...

archaeological finds and the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

also found their way into the later Province of

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

bordering their Pannonia province. From the 6th century on,

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

diffused into the Pannonic region and were followed by Bavarian settlers in the 8th century.

Twin towns — sister cities

Fürstenfeld is twinned with: *

Aindling Aindling is a market town in Aichach-Friedberg district, in Bavaria, southern Germany. Partner cities * Avord, France, since 1977 * Fürstenfeld, Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Eur ...

, Germany *

Körmend Körmend ( Prekmurje Slovene: ''Karmadén,'' ) is a town in Vas County, Western Hungary. Places of interest The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyány family, one of the most important aristocrat famili ...

, Hungary * Vişeu de Sus, Romania *

Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...

, Switzerland

Notable people

* Anita *

Herbert Depisch Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

Wilfried Elmenreich Wilfried Elmenreich (born 1973 in Fürstenfeld, Austria) is an Austrian researcher and professor of Smart Grids at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt. Biography Wilfried Elmenreich studied computer science at the Vienna University of Technol ...

, researcher and university professor *

Hans Fronius Hans Fronius (12 September 1903 - 21 March 1988) was an Austrians, Austrian Painting, painter and illustration, illustrator. He was born in Sarajevo, which was then a territory of Austria-Hungary (now Bosnia and Hercegovina). His father was descen ...

* Sissy Handler * Richard L. Heschl, born in Welsdorf * Markus Hirtler (alias Ermi-Oma), cabaret artist *

Max J. Hiti Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

Max Keimel Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

Karl Mader Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cachoe ...

, painter, graphic artist *

Bert Isatitsch Bert Isatitsch (September 14, 1911 – February 8, 1994) was an Austrian educator who later became the first president of the International Luge Federation (FIL), serving from its 1957 establishment until his 1994 death. Education career Born i ...

* Katharina Paldauf (1625-1675), "flower witch" prosecuted during the Great Witch trial of Feldbach * (1913, Rudersdorf - 2003)Parlamentarische Materialien: Erklärung des Präsidenten Gottfried Jaud anlässlich des 50. Jahrestages der Gründung des Europarates. Stenografisches Protokoll der 654 Sitzung /Seite 42, http://www.parlament.gv.at/pd/steno/PG/DE/BR/BRSITZ/BRSITZ_00654/SEITE_0042.html?P_PM=SEITE_0042 * Helmut Röhrling (known as ""), member of S.T.S. *

Emmerich Schreiner Emmerich may refer to: Places * Emmerich am Rhein, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany ** Emmerich Rhine Bridge ** Emmerich station * Emmerich, Wisconsin, unincorporated community in the town of Berlin, Wisconsin, United States Other uses * ...

Hanna Schulze-Bauer Hannah or Hanna may refer to: People, biblical figures, and fictional characters * Hannah (name), a female given name of Hebrew origin * Hanna (Arabic name), a family and a male given name of Christian Arab origin * Hanna (Irish surname) (inclu ...

* Hannes Schulze-Bauer * (born 1948, Fürstenfeld), member of S.T.S. * Fritz Vogt *

Gregor von Rezzori Gregor von Rezzori (; 13 May 1914 – 23 April 1998), born Gregor Arnulph Herbert Hilarius von Rezzori d'Arezzo, was an Austrian-born, Romanian, Bukovina-German German-language novelist, memoirist, screenwriter, and author of radio plays, as well ...

, studied in Fürstenfeld

References

External links

Official website of Fürstenfeld
Cities and towns in Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District {{Styria-geo-stub