St. Peter-Freienstein

The market town St. Peter Freienstein is located in the north of Leoben, surrounded by forests and mountains and has a surface area of 27 km² at 600 m above sea level. The municipality consists of the catastral communities of Hessenberg, Traidersberg, Tollinggraben and St. Peter Freienstein.

Some tool discoveries in the surroundings of St. Peter Freienstein prove that the first settlers came here during the Bronze Age (3000 until 700 before Christ). The first mention of the town in verified records was in 1140. In the Middle Ages, the community was well known as an administrative center. Situated at the Styrian Eisenstrasse, the town’s history is dominated by brown coal mining – the blast furnaces of the area’s iron industry had a huge demand for brown coal, which was mined until 1921 in the ”Trollinggraben“ near St. Peter Freienstein. In the furnace museum of Vordernberg, about 12 km away, visitors can get an impression of the iron extraction in these days.

The child-friendly municipality offers a wide variety of leisure activities such as hiking, mountainbiking, cycling or horseback riding. In summer, children can spend their holidays in the local children’s home, and in winter ice-skating is rather popular. The pilgrimage church Maria Freienstein and Castle Friedhofen including the saline museum are points of interest for people who are fond of culture. Culinaric delights can be found on the weekly farmers market in Castle Friedhofen.