The old ducal town of Sankt Veit an der Glan is located approximately twenty kilometers north of the Wörther See. From 1170 to 1518 it was the capital of Carinthia, but had to give in this status to the more centrally located Klagenfurt.
Highly influenced by the old town area, it still preserves great part of its 15th Century circuit of walls (10 meters), while the moat is now almost lined with the ground. The new buildings outside the old town have been carried out in a noticeable and tasteful fashion.
Many memorials adorn the Saint Veit an der Glan Hauptplatz. The marble Plague Column in its centre was built by Angelo de Putti in 1715 after the plague had been repulsed(inscriptions on the plinth).
To the north of the Plague Column in the St Veit Hauptplatz stands the Schlüsselbrunnen (Key Fountain), with a Romanesque basin from the Zollfeld and a beautiful refined bronze figure of a miner (1566) in the center. The southern half of the square is decorated by a further fountain also with a bronze figure (1676, and restored in 1960) of the poet Walther von der Vogelweide.
St Veit an der Glan - Burg Hochosterwitz
To the east of St Veit, on a crag, which rises some 160 meters above the valley, lies the majestic Burg Hochosterwitz. After a turbulent history the imposing edifice was captured by the Khevenhüllers. Georg Freiherr von Khevenhüller (1534-1587) finally purchased it and later, faced with the menace of Turkish attacks (1570-86) he extended it, provided it with an arsenal and ordered fourteen gates to be built.
The steep road to the castle(the Burgweg), partially hewn from the rock, winds its way up through the imposing 14 defensive gates to the beautiful arcaded Burghof (courtyard). At the northern corner of the courtyard one will find a 13 meters deep well. The small chapel has beautiful wall and ceiling paintings from 1570 and the church at the southwestern end of the castle was reconstructed in 1586; the high altar dates from 1729. From Easter week to the end of October, you can enjoy one of the conducted tours of the historical apartments and the Khevenhüller armory.
The Sankt Veit Parish Church is a triple aisled Romanesque basilica with a Gothic choir; pillars and ornaments adorn the west door; and the deer antlers above the door are a Celtic symbol. The 2-storey circular charnel house to the south was turned into a war memorial in 1930.
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