Bad Radkersburg (; sl, Radgona; archaic hu, Regede
[Divald, Kornél. 1931. ''Old Hungarian Art''. London: Oxford University Press, p. 117.]) is a
spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...
in the southeast of the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
, in the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Südoststeiermark.
Geography
![Radkersburg-Murbrücke 9134](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Radkersburg-Murbr%C3%BCcke_9134.JPG)
In the south the town borders
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
on the
Mur River. On the other side of the river lies its
twin city Gornja Radgona
Gornja Radgona (; german: Oberradkersburg, hu, Felsőregede) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Gornja Radgona. Once it was a defensive stronghold for today's regional centre and its twin city, Bad Radkersburg, on the ...
(''Oberradkersburg'') in the
Slovenian Styria
Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of ...
region. Bad Radkersburg is a spa town featuring a
thermal spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
with a temperature of . This and the longest
sunshine duration in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
make it an attractive site for
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
with over 100,000 stays per year.
In the course of a Styrian administrative reform, the town merged with the neighbouring municipality of
Radkersburg Umgebung
Radkersburg Umgebung ( sl, Žabakovci ) is a former municipality in the district of Südoststeiermark in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Bad Radkersburg
Bad Radkers ...
with combined population of 3158 inhabitants, in effect from 1 January 2015.
Weather
History
It is not known when Radkersburg was first settled or where the first settlement, mentioned in an 1182 deed, was located. It is also not known when it fell under princely territorial rule. Most likely, Radkersburg originally did not belong to the
Dukes of Styria
The Duchy of Styria (german: Herzogtum Steiermark; sl, Vojvodina Štajerska; hu, Stájer Hercegség) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until Dissolution of the Holy ...
, but possibly to an aristocrat named ''Radger'' to whom it had been given by the
German king
This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Emp ...
.
![010 Radkersburg - J](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/010_Radkersburg_-_J.F.Kaiser_Lithografirte_Ansichten_der_Steiermark_1825.jpg)
A
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
is documented in a 1265/67
urbarium
An urbarium (german: Urbar, English: ''urbarium'', also ''rental'' or ''rent-roll'', pl, urbarz, sk, urbár, hu, urbárium), is a register of fief ownership and includes the rights and benefits that the fief holder has over his serfs and peasant ...
issued under King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...
, who ruled Styria from 1261 to 1278, however, contemporary research suggests that the present-day town was founded by the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
king
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg (german: Albrecht I.) (July 12551 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude o ...
, Duke of Styria, in the end of the 13th century. The appearance of the city today is apparently based on a precise plan, surrounded by a wall with towers. Radkerburg was first mentioned as a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in 1299.
![Stadtpfarrkirche bad radkersburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Stadtpfarrkirche_bad_radkersburg.JPG)
Located near the border with the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, it was affected by the armed conflict between King
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...
and Emperor
Frederick III in the late 15th century. During the
Ottoman–Habsburg wars
The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th through the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Habsburg Spai ...
, extended fortifications were laid out according to plans designed by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
architect
Domenico dell'Allio
Domenico dell'Allio (1505–1563) was an Italian Renaissance architect, working mostly in what was then Inner Austria, present-day Slovenia and the Austrian states of Styria and Carinthia. He is best known for his work in the ''Landhaus'' (Sea ...
. Radkersburg was elevated to an
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
fortress by resolution of the 1582
Diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
of
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
.
![Radgonski kot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Radgonski_kot.jpg)
In the course of the 19th century language conflict, nationalist struggles in the ethnically mixed area arose between the predominantly German-speaking citizens and the Slovene-speaking peasant population down the Mur River. A
garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
town of the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, it was occupied by troops of the newly emerged
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
(Yugoslavia) on 1 December 1918. An armed revolt against the occupation forces, led by
Johann Mickl
Johann Mickl (18 April 1893 – 10 April 1945) was an Austrian-born army officer and division commander who served Nazi Germany during World War II. Reaching the rank of general (''Generalleutnant''), he was one of only 882 recipients of th ...
, in order to affiliate the town with
German-Austria
The Republic of German-Austria (german: Republik Deutschösterreich or ) was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethnic German population wit ...
failed. Nevertheless, by resolution of the 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
, the area north of the Mur passed to the
First Austrian Republic
The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...
, while ''Oberradkersburg'' (Gornja Radgona) and the neighbouring
municipality of Apače
The Municipality of Apače (; sl, Občina Apače) is a municipality in Slovenia. It lies in the traditional region of Styria in northeastern Slovenia and belongs to the Mura Statistical Region. The municipality borders on the municipalities of ...
(''Abstall''), on the south bank, became part of Yugoslavia.
The nationalist conflicts lingered on, on both sides of the border. In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
many members of the German minority greeted the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 and joined the German combat units, while large parts of Radkersburg were devastated by armed conflicts. After the war, most of the remaining German-speaking population south of the Mur was forcibly
expelled.
The Radkersburg bridge across the Mur was reopened on October 12, 1969, which led to a first
rapprochement
In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word ''rapprocher'' ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations between two countries. This may be done due to a mutual enemy, as was the case with Germ ...
between Austria and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. In 1975 the town achieved spa status, another
thermal spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
was made accessible in 1978, soon followed by an extension to the bathing site. Since Slovenia joined the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
in 2007, border controls between Radkersburg and Gornja Radgona have been abolished.
Population
Politics
![2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/2005.09.06_-_34_-_Radkersburg_-_Mariens%C3%A4ule_und_Rathaus.jpg)
Seats in the municipal council (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2010 (local elections):
*
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...
(ÖVP): 8
*Citizens' List: 4
*
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...
(SPÖ): 2
*
The Greens – The Green Alternative
The Greens – The Green Alternative (german: Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative, ) is a green political party in Austria.
The party was founded in 1986 under the name "Green Alternative" (''Grüne Alternative''), following the merger of the ...
: 1
Twin towns
Bad Radkersburg is
twinned with:
*
Varaždin
)
, image_photo =
, image_skyline =
, image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg
, flag_size =
, image_seal =
, seal_size =
, image_shield = Grb_Grad ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
*
Lenti
Lenti ( sl, Lentiba) is a town in Zala County, Hungary, located near the border with Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
Gallery
Image:Lenti1.jpg
Image:Lenti2.jpg
Image:Lenti3.jpg
Image:Lenti4.jpg
Image:Lenticivertanlegi1.jpg
Image:Lenticivertanle ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
Notable people
*
Andreas Walsperger
Andreas Walsperger (born c. 1415 in Bad Radkersburg, Radkersburg; date of death unknown) was a German cartographer of the 15th century. The son of a carpenter, he became a Benedictine, Benedictine monk at St Peter's Abbey, Salzburg, St. Peter's i ...
(–?), cartographer
*
Franz Leopold von Nádasdy
Franz Leopold von Nádasdy auf Fogaras (1708–1783) was an Austrian Field Marshal, and Ban of Croatia.
Early life
Franz Leopold von Nádasdy auf Fogaras was born on 30 September 1708 in Radkersburg, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östare ...
(1708–1783), general
*
Marie Egner (1850–1940), painter
*
Leopold Vietoris
Leopold Vietoris (; ; 4 June 1891 – 9 April 2002) was an Austrian mathematician, World War I veteran and supercentenarian. He was born in Radkersburg and died in Innsbruck.
He was known for his contributions to topology—notably the Mayer–V ...
(1891–2002), mathematician
*
Aribert Heim
Aribert Ferdinand Heim (28 June 191410 August 1992), also known as Dr. Death and Butcher of Mauthausen, was an Austrian ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) doctor. During World War II, he served at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Mauthausen, killin ...
(1914–1992), SS doctor
*
Wolfgang Fasching (born 1967), cyclist
*
Peter Luttenberger
Peter Luttenberger (born 13 December 1972) is a retired Austrian professional road bicycle racer. He finished fifth in the General classification of the 1996 Tour de France, but he never again managed to live up to the promise of that result, ...
(born 1972), cyclist
References
{{Authority control
Divided cities
Austria–Slovenia border crossings
Spa towns in Austria
Cities and towns in Südoststeiermark District