Hartberg is a city in Styria, Austria, the capital of the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld (district). As of 2014, it has a population of 6,449 in an area of 21.58 km². About 68 km up the A2 is the large city of Graz.
This town has a long and rich history. A settlement was located here in the Neolithic ages. One of the most important, prehistoric settlements of Styria developed on "Ringkogel" in the 3rd century BC. A massive protective wall surrounded it. Only two towers remain of the 7-8 metre high and 1500 metre long wall. (Schölbinger Tower and Reck Tower). The first mention of Hartberg as a city was in a 1286 document. During the 15th century it was conquered by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. A huge fire destroyed the town up to a few houses, but the population has been continually on the rise since then.
A massive protective wall surrounded it. In 1122 margrave Leopold I of Styria founded "Hartberg". Hartberg was even a central village in Styria for a certain time. The first written reference to Hartberg as "civitas" was in 1286.
Bezirk Hartberg is a former district of the state of Styria in Austria. Hartberg merged with the district of Fürstenfeld to form the new district Hartberg-Fürstenfeld on January 1, 2013.
Towns (Städte) are indicated in boldface; market towns (Marktgemeinden) in italics; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.
The Hartberg River is a small tributary of the Inn River in Upper Austria and originates in the Senftenbach Area. It flows from South to North to the Inn River and merges with it 2 km east of Obernberg am Inn. The water has a grade between A and B.
Coordinates: 48°19′55″N 13°20′36″E / 48.332°N 13.3433°E / 48.332; 13.3433