Bad Radkersburg

Radkersburg was a fortified town on the Mur, a frontier post against the Ottomans, and its centre survives largely as it was built - a market square with arcaded Renaissance and baroque houses, a town hall with a tower, the Hauptplatz plague column and stretches of the bastioned walls, restored over decades and given a European heritage award. The border runs along the Mur: the suburb on the far bank is Gornja Radgona in Slovenia, so a single town lies in two countries, and since Slovenia joined Schengen in 2007 the bridge between them has had no border controls. Thermal water was found in the 1970s and the spa is now the town's main business.

History

A settlement of Radkersburg is named in a deed of 1182, perhaps once held by a nobleman called Radger, and a market appears in a land register of King Ottokar II of Bohemia from 1265-1267, but the present town was most likely founded at the end of the 13th century by Albert I of Habsburg, Duke of Styria, laid out to a precise plan inside a wall with towers, and named a town in 1299. Lying near the Hungarian border, it was drawn into the struggle between Matthias Corvinus and Emperor Frederick III late in the 15th century, its fortifications were extended to plans by the Italian architect Domenico dell'Allio, and the Diet of Augsburg made it an imperial fortress in 1582 (Wikipedia, Bad Radkersburg).

What's there

• An intact Renaissance centre - arcaded houses round the square and bastioned walls.
• A town split by a border - the far bank, Gornja Radgona, is in Slovenia.
• An open crossing - the bridge to Gornja Radgona, freely walked since 2007.
• A thermal spa - built on water found in the 1970s.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Before you go

The old town is small and quiet - the spa is what most visitors come for. South-east Styria is remote from Graz by public transport. Summer here is hot.

Nearby

Gornja Radgona is over the bridge in Slovenia; the Styrian wine road is north-west.

Key facts