Zollfeld (Slovene: Gosposvetsko polje) is a slightly ascending plain in Carinthia, Austria. It is from 400 metres (1,300 ft) to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide and about 18 km (11 mi) long, with the altitude between 450 and 455 m (1,475 and 1,490 ft) above sea level. It is situated in the Klagenfurt Basin and extends along the Glan River from the north of Klagenfurt till Sankt Veit an der Glan. Ulrichberg (1,022 m / 3,350 ft) and Magdalensberg (1,059 m / 3,470 ft), the highest elevations of the Klagenfurt Basin, surround it.
This is one of the oldest cultural landscapes in Carinthia. The oldest findings originate from the time of Hallstatt culture. It was the cultural and political centre of the Celtic kingdom and later Roman province of Noricum, of the Slavic principality of Carantania, and finally of Carinthia.
In the Middle Ages, there was a Slavic fortification and later also Carolingian castle built in Zollfeld some five kilometers from Klagenfurt at the site of the modern-day village of Karnburg. Inside the castle was a meeting place, where the Prince's Stone, the base of an ancient Roman Ionic column, stood and the Dukes of Carantania were installed. Near Maria Saal stands the Duke's Chair. There the newly installed dukes of Carantania distributed their land among the vassals.
See also
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