Editing Murau City (dj: Wonkane Region) (section)

==History==
The area was already settled in the Bronze Age through the Roman Era. Based on an entry in the ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'' the ancient city of [[Noreia]], capital of the Celtic kingdom [[Noricum]], was thought to be near Murau in the late 18th and the 19th century. However, no archaeological evidence has been found so far.
[[File:Murau Styria.jpg|thumb|left|Murau Castle and St Matthew's parish church]]
''Murowe'' itself, centre of the [[Duchy of Styria|Styrian]] estates in the Mur valley held by the noble Liechtenstein family, was first mentioned in a 1250 deed. The famous minnesinger [[Ulrich von Liechtenstein]] (d. 1275) from nearby [[Unzmarkt-Frauenburg|Frauenburg]] had a castle erected at Murau which was again demolished when the [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemian]] king [[Ottokar II of Bohemia|Ottokar II]] occupied the Styrian lands upon his victory at [[Battle of Kressenbrunn|Kressenbrunn]] in 1260. Ulrich had to cede his estates to the king and was temporarily arrested in [[Margraviate of Moravia|Moravia]].

The Liechtenstein estates were restored, when Ottokar was defeated in the 1278 [[Battle on the Marchfeld]]. Ulrich's son Otto had the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] parish church of St Matthew's with its characteristic [[Crossing (architecture)|crossing tower]] built from 1284, it was consecrated by the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Lavant|Lavant]] bishop in 1296. The Murau citizens were vested with [[German town law|town privileges]] in 1298, whereafter the town was fortified and significantly enlarged.

From 1480 to 1490, the town was occupied by the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526)|Hungarian]] forces of King [[Matthias Corvinus]]. The Liechtensteins held Murau until the late 16th century. From 1623 onwards, it was a possession of the [[House of Schwarzenberg]] who had Murau Castle rebuilt in its present [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] style. The present owner is [[Karel Schwarzenberg]].

During [[World War II]] a camp of the [[Wehrmacht]] armed forces was located here, in which captured [[United Kingdom|British]] prisoners of war were held enthralled. At the end of the war in May 1945, local groups of [[German resistance to Nazism|resistance]] fighters freed eight remaining POWs and successfully led the approaching [[Red Army]] forces to believe that the town was already occupied by the British.