Friesach — Decipher the Templar's Final Code

Your quest begins near the Virgilhof, the starting point of this journey that leads you to the Hauptplatz, Friesach's historic central square. Founded in 1253 through an urban privilege granted by Emperor Frederick II, Friesach is the oldest city in Carinthia. On this 4,000 m² area, lined with arcaded houses typical of late Gothic style, you can hear the echo of weekly markets held there since the Middle Ages, centered around the fountain built in 1790. It is here that the first clues of your mission materialize, plunging you into the past of this Denkmalgeschützte Altstadt.

Continue your investigation towards the Minoritenkirche, a Minorite church built between 1270 and 1280 by the Franciscan Minorite order, closely linked to local mining as early as 1250. Its Gothic interior houses 14th-century frescoes depicting biblical scenes over 45 meters in length and 18 meters in vault height. It is in this place of contemplation and work that Hermann von Friesach, a local nobleman of the 13th century, would have overseen part of its construction. The Pulverturm, a cylindrical powder tower from 1525, 24 meters high, then reminds you of the strategic role of Friesach's medieval fortifications, where gunpowder was stored until the 17th century, accessible by a spiral staircase of 102 steps.

Your path then leads you to the Metnitz, the river flowing through Friesach, whose historic bridge was built in 1592. Canalized in the 17th century to power local mills, the Metnitz has seen centuries of trade thanks to its medieval fords used since the 10th century. The 1.2 km urban route along this river offers a perspective on medieval ingenuity. Not far, the Stadtpfarrkirche St. Bartholomäus, a parish church built in 1241 in Romanesque style with Gothic extensions in the 14th century, dominates the skyline with its 62-meter bell tower completed in 1330. It contains a Baroque altarpiece from 1660 by local artist Johann Zoller and burials of Carinthian nobles from the 13th century.

The ascent to Burg Geiersberg, a fortified castle perched at 800 m altitude, reveals Friesach's origins in the 12th century, fortified in 1253. This residence of the Counts of Friesach until the 14th century, with its 300-meter perimeter wall and 20-meter high keep, houses the remains of a Romanesque chapel dating from 1180. Bernhard von Spanheim's role in establishing these defenses is palpable in every stone. Finally, the Lederergasse, a cobbled alley in the historic center, immerses you in the 14th-century leather industry, with its gabled houses from 1400-1600, typical of Carinthian bourgeois architecture. Tanner workshops are documented there in municipal records from 1385, connecting the Hauptplatz to the Metnitz.

This circuit through Friesach's Mittelalterliche Stadtbefestigung will have allowed you to reassemble the puzzle pieces of Bernhard von Spanheim's legacy. Every step in this Älteste Stadt Kärntens will have brought you closer to the secrets of medieval Carinthia, from bustling markets to impregnable fortresses, and through the Minorite churches. The historical details of the Minoritenkirche, the Pulverturm, the Stadtpfarrkirche St. Bartholomäus, and the Burg Geiersberg come together to reveal a living fresco. You take with you not only the deciphered code but also a deep understanding of the history of Friesach, a city where every stone tells a thousand-year-old story.