Maria Saal

Maria Saal stands on a hill above the Zollfeld, the plain that held the Roman city of Virunum, and the church walls are studded with Roman gravestones and reliefs taken from the ruins and set into the masonry - including a well-known relief of a chariot - so the building carries its predecessor visibly. The church was a missionary base from the eighth century, was fortified against Ottoman raids with a wall and towers, and is late Gothic inside with baroque altars. Below on the Zollfeld stand the Herzogstuhl, a stone seat assembled from Roman blocks where Carinthian dukes were installed, and further off the Fürstenstein, the prince's stone used in the Slovene-language enthronement ritual that is documented from the Middle Ages. An open-air museum of Carinthian farm buildings sits nearby.

What you actually see

• Roman stones in the walls - gravestones and reliefs from Virunum built into the church.
• A fortified pilgrimage church - walled and towered against Ottoman raids.
• The Herzogstuhl - the ducal stone seat on the Zollfeld below.
• An open-air farm museum - Carinthian rural buildings re-erected nearby.

When to go

April to October; the open-air museum is seasonal. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The church is active and services take priority. The Herzogstuhl stands in an open field with little interpretation on site. The open-air museum charges separately and closes in winter.

Nearby

Klagenfurt is south; the Magdalensberg excavations are east.