Bad Radkersburg and Gornja Radgona can look back on 700 years of shared history. The area around the castle on the mountain top, which is extending prominently into the Mur Valley, as well as the area around the island on the ford situated below, have been known as a permanent point of settlement since pre-Christian times. Until the end of World War I, the city’s impact was reaching out into the Southeast of Hungary, Croatia and today’s Slovenia. After the Ottoman wars the city’s trading activities had further expanded into the Southeast; moreover, the city served as a focal point between these trade zones and the alpine areas. However, the development of the area after World War I up to Slovenia’s joining the European Union was strongly shaped by numerous obstacles. Now that the Schengen borders have disappeared, there is a great opportunity for both sides of the river Mur to again become a vital and competitive hub for the shared areas in the Southeast and North.