Sankt Veit an der Glan Town Fortification

The city fortifications of Sankt Veit an der Glan, a city in the district of the same name in Carinthia (Austria), were first mentioned in a document in 1228 and their current substance essentially dates back to the 15th century.

More than 1000 running meters of the city wall, which was up to 1.7 meters thick, are still preserved at an average height of ten meters. The area in front of it, the former 20 to 25 meter wide moat, was drained but has largely remained undeveloped. Due to the progressive development of weapon technology, an extensive reinforcement of the fortifications became necessary in the 16th century. This led to the creation of the seven-meter-wide Zwinger (outer ward), which was reinforced by shell towers. Of these, a heavily renovated bastion tower, a projecting round building, has been preserved at the northwest corner. It is marked with 1532 on an embedded stone. At the northwest corner, the so-called Herzogsburg (Duke's Castle) was incorporated into the fortification. The four tower-fortified city gates were demolished between 1851 and 1890. The current gates in the city wall date from the 20th century.