Friedberg#

Friedberg, Styria, town in the district of Hartberg, alt. 600 m, pop. 2,772, area 25.84 km2, on the outskirts of the Joglland region on the border to Burgenland, formerly on the Hungarian border. - District court, sanitation board of the District Commission, office of the health and social insurance agency, vocational school for rural home economics; production of leather buttons and chairs (Thonethaus centre with bentwood furniture manufactured by the company), some tourism. - The building of the town was allegedly financed by Duke Leopold V with the ransom money paid for King Richard I (Lionheart) in 1094. It was often destroyed by Hungarians and Turks; in the 17th century the city became known for cloth-making; late Gothic parish church (built around 1450, redesigned in Baroque style after 1682) with two Roman stones (2nd century A.D.); Baroque column dedicated to the Virgin Mary (1809).

Literature#