"Krone" knowledge

Magdalensberg: A place that has experienced a lot

The Magdalensberg Chronicle is available at the municipal office and in bookshops.(Bild: zVg)

The new chronicle tells the story of what has happened in the municipality of Magdalensberg over 2000 years, spanning from the past to nature and the present day!

Austria's first capital was once built on the lava rock of the summit of Magdalensberg. Mayor Andreas Scherwitzl reports: "There is hardly any other place where history is as diverse as here. The early Roman town that was built on the summit of our Magdalensberg is particularly significant."

The Ottmannach elementary school, where Udo Jürgens studied.(Bild: Hermann Stelzl)

The excavation site.(Bild: Renate Jernej)

The castle chapel in Portendorf,(Bild: Ferdinand Neumüller )

Wilhelm Wadl, the long-standing director of the Carinthian Provincial Archives, who retired in 2019, has now written the new municipal chronicle "Magdalensberg - Nature - History - Present": "The Romans later moved away from the mountain again, because where were they supposed to get the water from up there?" The historian has revised the first edition of the chronicle from 1995. "An enormous amount has happened in these 30 years."

The Romans moved away from the mountain again - because where were they supposed to get the water from up there?

so der langjährige Leiter des Kärntner Landesarchives Wilhelm Wadl

Wadl invested two years and hundreds of hours of work in the book. More than 2000 years of history were illuminated together with 15 guest authors. Special attention is paid to geology, flora and fauna, industry, customs, cultural monuments, the economy and farming. A chapter is also dedicated to the first 50 years of the municipality of Magdalensberg, which includes 40 villages.

Exciting facts about Udo Jürgen's elementary school
Wadl: "We went on forays into the villages. There are fascinating things to discover in every church, in every castle - and at Zeiselburg Castle. The work was a pleasure and very eventful!" There are also exciting things to report about the Ottmanach elementary school, which entertainer Udo Jürgens and his brother Manfred Bockelmann visited.

The 440-page chronicle was published by Verlag Heyn and is available from the municipality and bookshops for 49 euros.