News & Events
September 09, 2026
FERLACH, AUSTRIA: CENTER OF WORLD-BEST HUNTING FIREARMS
The valleys and gorges of the Karawanken mountains are rich in forests and water, and of wild, picturesque beauty. In the 16th century Emperor Ferdinand of Austria I has gathered capable gunsmiths from the crownlands to found a firearm production here in this valley in the “valley of Roses”, which then became the main supplier for the Habsburg army for over 100 years.
In the heydays, more than 300 masters worked here, so that the whole region was directly or indirectly dependent on the gunmaking industry, which prospered thru times of military expansion of the Habsburg Empire. However, it was then that from the 19th century after the Napoleonic wars production fell sharply and military orders could no longer be served due to competition from arms factories in Vienna and Steyr. It was then, that the resourceful gunmakers turned to the production of high-quality hunting firearms.
Since 1790, for eight generations, company Johann Fanzoj has played a significant role in shaping this proud tradition.
Watch this excerpt from a beautiful 3sat documentary “Die Drau entlang – Along the Drau” by Gernot Stadler; a cinematic foray of the unique landscapes and people along the Drau river in Southern Carinthia at the intersection of three cultures, with a portrait of the little town of Ferlach, world-renowned for the production of hunting firearms.
Copyright: 3sat-Mediathek
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