Zeltweg, Austria

Zeltweg is a town in Styria and located about in the middle of Austria. It is located in the Aichfeld at an elevation of about 659m and has a population of about 8189 (as of 2004). The largest river is the Mur. Larger municipalities in the vicinity are Judenburg, Knittelfeld and Fohnsdorf.

History

Some farms were located at Zeltweg already during the 13th century. The village was called "CELTWICH", its name being recorded in 1430 for the first time. During the 15th century, there were considerable difficulties resulting from famines, failed harvests and epidemics, From 1569 onwards, Archduke Charles II initiated the rafting of timber in the Mur, which gained considerable importance for Zeltweg's history. During the following decades, Zeltweg grew and was the target of migration.

During the 18th century, the population shrank considerably because of the expansion of roads. In 1848, Count Hugo Henckel von Donnersmark, who came from Silesia, decided to build a smeltery at the site. This industrial revolution brought a boom for Zeltweg. A railway station was built in 1868. The first mayor, Heinrich Dillinger, was elected in 1875.

At the end of World War II, Zeltweg was first occupied by Soviet and than English troups. Still, there was an upswing both in education and in industry after the war.

Zeltweg today

Zeltweger "Platzlmorkt"

The most important industries are machine construction, the packaging industry, and timber. Furthermore, Austria's largest military airport (Flughafen Hinterstoisser) is located here, which was built in 1937.

The center of Zeltweg was strongly polluted by by truck traffic, as a large proportion of the traffic coming from Wolfsberg and Obdach (including log wood, hacked wooed and packaged goods) had to be brought through the town. For that reason, a by-pass was built and opened on November 3, 2004. The expressway is 4.5km long, cost € 11 million and also saves Judenburg and Fisching from traffic.

In Zeltweg, there are, among others, two elementary schools, one Hauptschule (junior high school) (the two Hauptschulen were merged in 2002) and a vocational high school machine construction and building.

Formula 1

The Zeltweg Airfield was used for a Formula 1 Grand Prix as early as 1964. Nearby, in Spielberg, there used to be the Formula 1 track known first as Österreichring, later as A1-Ring, where races were held from 1970 to 1987 and from 1997 to 2003. The last Grand Prix took place in late May of 2003. The track was dismantled in early 2004. The project of refurbishing the circuit and using it again for motorsports, as had been planned by its owner Red Bull, seems to be currently stalled and may be developing into a political scandal (as of January 2005).

Farrach Palace

Farrach Palace

Farrach Palace was built by Carl Friedrich von Teufenbach between 1670 and 1680 in the style of an Italian Renaissance palace. Stucco works were installed inside.

Since 1986, the palace is owned by Anton and Ingrid Hartleb, who refurbished it and transformed it a site for cultural and artistic events.