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Tobacco smoke and „Kruzitürken“ in the „Black Tower“.
Fortress wall.
Strong stuff.
After repeated changes of ownership, in 1691 Pfeilburg Tower came into the possession of Johann Christoph Liscutin. In it he set up Austria’s first tobacco processing facility. In 1725, the Fürstenfeld city government acquired the so-called „Freihaus“, and used it as a school, barracks and a military hospital. Later, the Fürstenfeld Museum Association undertook measures to save and renovate the „Pfeilburg“. Today, it houses the Kruzitürken- and Tobacco Museum.
Thanks to the initiative of the Fürstenfeld Museum Association, this oldest secular building in the city was saved, renovated and finally repurposed in 1999 as the Kruzitürken- and Tobacco Museum .
Tobacco Museum
The economic development of the city Fürstenfeld was for centuries linked to the production of tobacco products. The Pfeilburg was one of the city’s first manufacuring facilities in the 17th century. With more than 300 exhibits, the Tobacco Museum documents 300 years of tobacco history and smoking culture.
„Kruzitürken“ Museum
The changing history of this city on the border with Hungary is documented on two floors of a museum with a name that reflects the dangers once associated with this border position. „Kruzitürken“ is a curse word that is most likely an amalgamation representing the two most feared enemies that made raids across the border in the early modern period, the Ottoman Turks and their Hungarian allies, the Kurucs. One of the museum’s highlight is a model of the city of Fürstenfeld with its famous curtain wall around 1600. Also a popular exhibit object is a model figure of an impressively outfitted Janissary soldier on horseback .
© KleinehistorischeStädte_Stadtmarketing Fürstenfeld@Wolfgang Spekner
Trade – Commerce – Industry
The city of Fürstenfeld has been a trading town for centuries and has significantly shaped the economic life of Eastern Styria. Trade and commerce have always been key pillars of economic development in the region. There were extensive trade relations across the border with Hungary, and tobacco cultivation and processing also helped ensure the prosperity of the city.
Guided tours along the fortress path can be booked by contacting the Fürstenfeld Tourism Association.
Fürstenfeld Tourism Association
A-8280 Fürstenfeld, Hauptstrasse 2a
Phone: +43 3382 55 100-81
fuerstenfeld@thermen-vulkanland.at
Hauptstraße 2a, A 8280 Fürstenfeld
Steiermark / Austria
Phone: +43 3382 55 100 81
fuerstenfeld@thermen-vulkanland.at
The „Fürstenfeld Fortress Path“ is operated by the Thermen- & Vulkanland Tourism Association in cooperation the:
Fürstenfeld Museum Association
c/o Museum Pfeilburg
A 8280 Fürstenfeld, Klostergasse 18,
pfeilburg@stwff.at
www.museum-pfeilburg.at
Franz Rabl’s cycle tour: ‘An e-bike "cruise”’ A local history e-bike tour visiting selected wayside crosses and Christian landmarks in the parish of Altenmarkt near Fürstenfeld.
18. July 2026 @ 16:00Guided tour of the Augustinian Church: ‘Of human toil and Baroque joie de vivre’ and organ concert: Josef Rauscher, Gerhard Trousil, Prof. Josef Hofer
26. August 2026 @ 18:30Lecture by Gerhard Trousil: ‘Interesting and Curious Facts in Old Pharmacopoeias’
18. September 2026 @ 18:30The customary cigarette with coffee, a refreshing glass of beer after work. For some people, it’s a must, but where does the line between pleasure and misery lie? In the building that once housed Austria’s first tobacco factory, we’d like to talk with you in a relaxed atmosphere about your own relationship with these indulgences.
24. September 2026 @ 17:00Lecture by Brigadier DDr. Andreas Stupka: "The Turkish Siege of 1683 and its Lessons for Today’s Security Policy Situation”
16. October 2026 @ 18:30======================== SLOVENŠČINA ========================
