Sonnfeld Settlement - Bronze Age

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The fi rst documented settlement in St. Veit emerged around 2000 BC near the Ausserklingelberg courtyard on a naturally protected hilltop and was additionally fortifi ed with a wall. This was abandoned around 1500 BC. A kind of chiefdom probably formed in the Pongau at this time, which is why such a heavily fortifi ed settlement was no longer necessary.

The people therefore moved to the more practically located Sonnfeld settlement. It was inhabited from about 1500 BC to 750 BC and extended from today’s Kindergarten in the west to the Seelacken Museum in the east along the mountain slope. In the south it was bordered by the now silted up lake. Cloak pins, ceramics and other everyday objects were found during excavations.

The houses stood on a stone base, the walls were sealed with clay and the roofs were covered with reeds from the nearby lake.

The settlement was connected to copper mining in St. Veit (slag finds), which had its prehistoric peak at this time. Copper and also St. Veit lost their importance with the discovery of iron, and it took until the Middle Ages before a larger settlement emerged again.