Kapfenberg () is a city in the

Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district Bruck-Mürzzuschlag () is a district in Styria, Austria. It came into effect on January 1, 2013, when the merging of the districts Bruck an der Mur and Mürzzuschlag occurred. Just 2 years later, on 1 January 2015, the district was restructured in ...

of the Austrian state of

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 ...

. It lies in the valley of the

Mürz The Mürz () is a river in Styria, Austria, with a length of . Its drainage basin is . The Mürz begins at the confluence of the and near Kaltenbach, Neuberg and the border to Lower Austria. It passes through Mürzzuschlag. Along its course are ...

river in central Austria. With an estimated population of 22,080 individuals in 2024, it is the third largest city in Styria. The 13th century Oberkapfenberg castle hosts the annual Ritterfest ("knights festival").

Geography

Kapfenberg is a city in the

of the Austrian state of

. It lies in the valley of the

river near the

Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...

. The city incorporates 15 settlements, the largest of which is Hafendorf. The Oberkapfenberg castle near the town was built in the 12th century by the Lords of Stubenberg and expanded in the 15th century. The castle went to a dilapidated condition in the 17th century before being restored in the 19th century. In 1992, it was purchased by the municipality of Kapfenberg, and it hosts the annual Ritterfest ("knights festival").

Demographics

With an estimated population of 22,080 individuals in 2024, it is the third largest city in Styria. The population consisted of 10,901 males and 11,179 females, while 3,405 inhabitants (15.4%) were under the age of seventeen. Apart from

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

, who make up nearly 78% of the population, the town also had a significant proportion of people from other countries majorly from Switzerland. The town is a major

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

production center, with the

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

factory operated by manufacturer

voestalpine Voestalpine AG – stylized as voestalpine – is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. The company is active in steel, automotive, railway systems, profilform and tool steel industries. As of 201 ...

having an annual capacity of 205,000 tonnes.

Sports

The

Franz Fekete Stadium Franz Fekete Stadion is a multipurpose stadium in Kapfenberg, Austria. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Kapfenberger SV. The stadium was constructed in 1950, and currently holds 9,640 people. It was named in 200 ...

is a 12,000 seater

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium in the city. Inaugurated in 1950, it is home to the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

club

Kapfenberger SV Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg, Styria. They won the 2007–08 Austrian Football First League and were promoted to the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as ''Kapfenberger SC''. The nam ...

. Formed in 1976, the

Kapfenberg Bulls Kapfenberg Bulls, also known simply as Bulls, is a professional basketball club that is based in Kapfenberg, Styria, Austria. The team plays in the Austrian Basketball Superliga. The Bulls have won seven national championships, four Austrian Cu ...

is a team in the

Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga The Austrian Basketball Bundesliga (in German: Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga) was the top men's professional basketball league in Austria. Until the 2004–05 season, the league was known as the A-Liga (A-League) and then until the 2008� ...

, the highest professional basketball league in Austria. In 1970, Kapfenberg hosted the

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

, which was won by the Soviet Union.

Notable people

Ernst Kovacic Ernst Kovacic (born 12 April 1943 in Kapfenberg, Styria) is an Austrian violinist and conductor. Studies Ernst Kovacic studied violin, piano and organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and took composition lessons there. He ...

(born 1943), violinist and conductor *

Melitta Breznik Melitta Breznik (born 1961 in Kapfenberg) is a senior doctor, specializing in psychiatry and a writer of novels and short stories. She was born in southern Austria, though most of her professional life has been spent in Switzerland. Melitta Bre ...

(born 1961), doctor and writer *

Peter Nehr Peter Nehr (born June 29, 1952) is an Austrian-born American politician and former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives who represented the 48th District of Florida from 2006 to 2012. Biography Personal life Peter Nehr wa ...

(born 1952), American politician *

Peter Pilz Peter Pilz (born 22 January 1954) is an Austrian politician ( JETZT). From 1986 to 2017, he was a member of the Austrian Green Party. Political career Born in Kapfenberg, Styria, Pilz was a member of the Austrian Parliament (''Nationalrat'') be ...

(born 1954), politician *

Ruth Feldgrill-Zankel Ruth Feldgrill-Zankel (born 15 September 1942) is an Austrian politician and former Federal Minister of the Environment, Youth and Family. Feldgrill-Zankel was born in Kapfenberg, Styria, in 1942. She briefly studied abroad at North Phoenix High ...

(born 1942), politician *

Ulrike Diebold Ulrike Diebold (born 12 December 1961, in Kapfenberg, Austria) is an Austrian physicist and materials scientist who is a professor of surface science at TU Vienna. She is known for her groundbreaking research on the atomic scale geometry an ...

(born 1961), physicist and materials scientist

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Bruck-Mürzzuschlag District Fischbach Alps