Großklein, Austria

Nearly 700 burial mounds, tumulus graves are still visible today in the so-called Sulm-valley necropolis. Once there were up to 2000 tumuli. Among the burial mound groups, a separate group of four strikingly large barrows in the village of Kleinklein gained notoriety. These so-called "princely tumuli", which were mainly dug by their former owners in the 19th century, contained particularly imposing grave furnishings with numerous bronze vessels and bronze protective weapons. Special attention and national reputation found an enigmatic bronze mask and hands made of decorated bronze sheet from the tumulus "Kröllkogel", which became the icon of Großklein (and his museum).

 

The rich grave goods testify the prosperity and connections of the "princes" to distant regions such as today's northern and central Italy. Remarkably, the settlement on the Burgstallkogel did not have fortifications during the Iron Age, as it was common for prehistoric hilltop settlements. Possibly the control over the access of the Sulm-valley was held by the fortified settlement on the hill Königsberg, which is in sight with Burgstallkogel. Exactly at the point where the hill Königsberg rises, the valley of the Sulm forms a needle eye, so the defense of the narrow passage was facilitated by the natural conditions. Following the Sulm further east in direction Mur, there is on the last mountain ridge, the Frauenberg / Seggauberg, another significant settlement place, which was populated from prehistoric times to later in Roman times. Jointly, these three hilltop settlements together with smaller settlements in the lowlands, arable land and mining areas of raw materials formed a coherent settlement system, which was connected by paths and river courses. Together with the burial mounds, these traces of the past form a monumental landscape, inviting the attentive viewer to a journey into long bygone times.