The little town of Gmünd (507m/1,663ft; pop. 7,000) is beautifully situated in the lower valley of the Lieser, at the mouth of the charming Malta valley, on the busy road from the Katschberg pass to the Millstätter See and the Drau valley. It is both a staging point on the way from Salzburg to Carinthia and a good base from which to explore the
Nock district.
Gmünd was founded about 1240 by Archbishop Eberhard II of Salzburg, and received its municipal charter in 1346. In 1480 the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus took possession of the town, and in 1502 it was mortgaged to the Archbishop of Salzburg by Emperor Maximilian I. After a long time under the control of Baron Georg von Khevenhüller it was sold in the 17th century by Count von Raitenau to Count Christoph Lodron. The feudal system of control was lifted in 1848.
The Old Town is still surrounded by a circuit of 16th century walls, with four gates. Some medieval stocks are still to be seen near the Upper Gate.