At Petersberg, the history of the castle and the city are closely intertwined: the City Museum is housed in the chapel tower of Petersberg Castle. Spread across six floors, it displays historical objects from a range of contexts. These include Roman medallions, Gothic keystones, Friesach silver pennies, weapons and Romanesque frescoes. The collection thus offers different ways to explore the city’s history and culture, rather than focusing on a single type of object. Keystones form the closing point at the crown of a vault.
The castle, museum and medieval city
Petersberg Castle was first mentioned in 860. It served as a fortress and as a residence for the Archbishops of Salzburg. The year 860 marks its first recorded mention; the fortress and archiepiscopal residence describe the castle’s historical functions, while the collection covers a variety of subjects and object types.
The water-filled medieval moat also shapes Friesach’s old town. It is 820 metres long and surrounds it to the north, east and south. Its length and the specified sides give a clear idea of the extent of this historic structure and its position in relation to the old town.
The Friesach Castle Courtyard Plays also put on performances for visitors at Petersberg every year. This adds a regular programme of stage performances to the historical focus. If you would like to combine your trip with a performance, check the specific dates in advance.
Craftsmanship from the castle hill to chocolate
South of the medieval town of Friesach, a hilltop castle is being built on a hill at Erlebnis Burgbau Friesach. It is constructed using traditional craftsmanship and without modern equipment. The project thus focuses on building skills and the work involved in constructing a castle. Its focus differs from that of the historical objects in the City Museum.
The chocolate experience world focuses on a different production process: visitors discover the journey from the cocoa bean to handcrafted Craigher chocolate. Tasting stations and films show how Craigher chocolates are made by hand with great care. While the construction of a hilltop castle using historical building techniques is the focus of the castle-building project, here the themes range from raw material to finished product. This makes it possible to compare two distinct aspects of craftsmanship.
Nature and finding your way on arrival
The current Tourism Card listing also includes the “Living Room Nature” exhibition. It presents nature as a habitat and covers topics including wildlife, forests, butterflies and fish. The focus is on a variety of habitats and animal groups, rather than just one aspect of nature.
For finding your way on arrival, Friesach railway station is a useful reference point: from there, you can reach the main square in less than a ten-minute walk.
Discover more travel destinations: Liebenfels, HĂĽttenberg, Kaindorf, Treffling, Sand, Frauenstein, Sadin, Launsdorf.
Return to the regional travel overview: Sankt Veit An Der Glan.
