The natural location of Frauenberg in the middle of a loop of the Sulm river offered ideal conditions already to the people of the late Stone Age in the 4th millennium B.C. Additional protection was provided by the steep slopes that surrounded the uppermost part of the hilltop. In the Urnfield Culture era (around 1000 B.C.) a first fortification was built here. In the following Hallstatt period (850-450 B.C.), the main settlement of the region was located on the Burgstallkogel hill of Grossklein, 9 km away – but there was also a settlement on the Frauenberg. It gained its greatest importance in the Celtic period (450 B.C. to the time of Christ’s birth), when the place became a princely seat.
If you walk from the ridge between Seggauberg and Frauenberg along a Way of the Cross up the hill, you will notice the steeply rising ramparts on the right and left. These are the partially preserved remains of the Celtic defense system that surrounded the mountain on all sides. These ramparts were probably one of the reasons why the mountain was so important, especially in the 2nd and 1st centuries. After a short ascent, after 250 m you reach the square in front of the baroque Marienkirche church, which gave the Frauenberg its name. Here you can continue walking to the Temple Museum. If one were to go back down past the church, one could walk along the “Katzelsteig” trail, which is also the remnant of a Celtic path, to the cultic site 250 m away on the so-called Perlacker or Stadlacker fields. Here, during the archaeological excavations, an extensive Celtic sanctuary was discovered where countless cattle were sacrificed. It also served as a meeting place where men and women gathered.
Today’s temple museum is located on the site of the Roman temple precinct. To get there, you pass by the church and then turn left along the road into the area of this cultic site. It is located in the middle of the former Celtic settlement and probably was also the place where the prince had his seat. In the period before the Romans, the buildings were made of wood and clay. Stone construction was not yet widespread, which is why hardly any remains of these buildings have survived. With the Roman takeover which took place in the time of the Emperor Augustus, the Celtic prince lost his autonomy. Under Roman pressure, the old sacrificial site had to be abandoned. Instead, a sanctuary was built which in the following centuries became the most important place of worship in Flavia Solva. The present temple museum is located on the foundations of the great temple. Next to it, at the highest point of this area, there was the first cult building, which still corresponded to native Celtic tradition.
In the museum you can see altars, sculptures and countless findings from the sanctuaries. The most significant among them are the many statuettes of a mother goddess, who is depicted nursing a baby. She was probably the great goddess worshipped here, important even in pre-Roman times, and invoked throughout the Roman Empire. But also the god Mercury, Mars Latobius or the horse goddess Epona were worshipped. Possibly there was also a cultic worship of the Roman emperor, a tradition that did not seem strange to the world of that time. A visit to Frauenberg can be concluded with a tour of the Baroque church, renowned for its frescoes. The pilgrimage church still testifies to the ancient tradition of the holy mountain which – as the many archaeological finds show – has been important for the surrounding area for thousands of years.
