Seckau basin
Coordinates: 47 ° 16 '12 " N , 14 ° 47' 59" E
The Seckau Basin is an inner-alpine basin north of the Austrian Mur Valley. The main town is Seckau .
Geologically, it lies on the border of the Northern Limestone Alps and the Grauwackenzone and is part of the Noric Depression .
history
The fertile and water-rich valley in western Styria was already densely populated in the pre-Roman Iron Age and belonged to the Regnum Noricum , from which the Noric Basin owes its name. In addition to agriculture, clay deposits played a role in the manufacture of ceramics. Iron ore deposits were also found in the area. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the valley came under Slavic influence during the migration of the peoples, until German settlers settled there in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Seckau Benedictine monastery was built around 1140 . Local occurrences of sandstone made the construction of the generously dimensioned clerical facilities easier.
today
Even today the valley is predominantly characterized by agriculture and forestry. Tourism was another important economic factor. Geological surveys in the 1970s showed the presence of coal seams and coal gas, but these are not exploited.
The Via Alpina (purple) long-distance hiking trail leads through the basin , which in this area partly follows an ancient trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea, the so-called Amber Route .