Since 2015 Gratwein-Straßengel is a market town in the
Graz-Umgebung District
Bezirk Graz-Umgebung is a Districts of Austria, district of the States of Austria, state of Styria in Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it consists of the following municipalities:
* Deutschfeistritz
* Dobl-Zwaring
* Egg ...
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 ...
, Austria. The town took effect as part of the
Styria municipal structural reform
The Styria municipal structural reform (German: ''Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturreform'') was a local government reform in the Austrian state of Styria, which was made effective January 1, 2015. This reform nearly halved the number of Styrian ...
,
from the end of 2014 with the merging of the former municipalities
Gratwein
Gratwein was a municipality of Austria, merged in 2015 to form Gratwein-Straßengel in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state ( ...
, Judendorf-Straßengel, Eisbach and Gschnaidt. The merger made the market town population to be the 6th-largest in Styria.
A petition by the mayor of Eisbach, to the constitutional court, against the merger was not successful.
Likewise a petition from the town Gschnaidt was not successful.
Geography
Municipality layout
The town lies to the west (right) bank of the
Mur River
The Mur () or Mura (; ; ; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Müra''Novak, Vilko. 2006. ''Slovar stare knjižne prekmurščine''. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, pp. 262, 269. or ''Möra'') is a river in Central Europe rising in the Hohe Tauern national park of th ...
, about northwest of the Styrian capital Graz.
The section Rein, with its famous
Stift
The term (; nl, sticht) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenan ...
The town contains 11 sections with a total of 12,803 residents (as of 1 January 2016):
* Eisbach (1,010)
*
Gratwein
Gratwein was a municipality of Austria, merged in 2015 to form Gratwein-Straßengel in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state ( ...
(3,635)
* Gschnaidt (327)
* Hörgas (990)
* Hundsdorf (485)
* Judendorf (1,550)
* Kehr und Plesch (101)
* Kugelberg (292)
* Rein (890)
* Rötz (785)
* Straßengel (2,741)
The municipal area is divided into six
Katastralgemeinde
A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a Cadastre, cadastral subdivision of Municipality, municipalities in the nations of Austria,Cadastral Template for Austria, web-pageCT-AT Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ser ...
Gratwein
Gratwein was a municipality of Austria, merged in 2015 to form Gratwein-Straßengel in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state ( ...
The area lies in the Gratkorn Basin, which opens to the West Styria region and forms an expanded part of the Mur valley.
Surveys
In the communal area, there are some related peaks within the ''Grazer Bergland'', including the "four Thousander", along which form a popular trail in the area of Stift Rein.
* Heiggerkogel (1,098 m)
* Pleschkogel (1,061 m)
* Mühlbacher Kogel (1,050 m)
* Walzkogel (1026 m)
* Generalkogel (713 m)
* Gsollerkogel (667 m)
* Kugelberg (564 m)
History
The local communities as autonomous entities came into existence after the abolition of the landlords in 1850.
; Judendorf Straßengel
Around 860, in one of the oldest documents of Austria, the churchhill of Straßengel is called "''ad Strazinolun''". Probably the name derives from the Slavic "''straza''", which could refer to a watchtower located here.
On June 11, 1147, Margrave Otakar III dedicated the monastery Rein to several towns Rotz, Straßengel and Judendorf. These areas were managed by monks from the Rein abbey.
Settlements with the label "Judendorf" are usually located along old trade routes crossing the Alps. In their neighborhood, the city and market foundations were established later. It is assumed that these Jewish villages are the settlements of Jewish merchants who were intensively involved in the merchandise trade in the early Middle Ages.
After the abolition of the landlords, Judendorf, Straßengel, Rötz, Hundsdorf and Kugelberg were included in the market town of Gratwein, established in 1849.
With the opening of the section Mürzzuschlag-Graz of the k.k. privileged Southern Railway on October 21, 1844, the Gratwein/Gratkorn Basin also joined the "industrial revolution". As a result, Jewish businesses settled in Judendorf, including a cement factory.
The Judendorf and Straßengel people, however, owed their economic boom to the fact that the upper class of Graz had seized this area already in the year 1850. Especially based on economic activity was the development of a hotel (1889), a cold-water sanatorium (1894), and the "Styrian Park Sanatorium Dr. Feiler" (1901). At the time, as one of the most famous spa resorts of the monarchy, Judendorf-Straßengel finally obtained the separation from Gratwein, and in 1909 constituted itself as an independent local community.
The upswing came to an abrupt end with the collapse of the monarchy and the associated loss of the economic backlands. The congregation would soon have sunk into insignificance, if the health insurance of the Austrian federal railway would not have taken over the former Feiler Park Sanatorium.
After the Second World War, Judendorf-Straßengel developed more and more into a residential community, and in 1981, 86% of the workforce worked in the home-community. After the insurance company of Austria railways in 1989 abolished parts of its special hospital. Through intensive efforts, the tradition of Judendorf-Straßengel as a health resort and as a place of rest and recreation also continued. Consequently, in the first special department of the Psychiatric Hospital "Park Residence", a retirement home, and on the site of the last disused part, a modern rehabilitation center was built with a focus on neurology, orthopedics, oncology and children's rehabilitation.
In 2009 the main square was completely redesigned around the former community center and inaugurated on the occasion of the 100th anniversary.
; Eisbach
North of the village Rein was in the Neolithic Age (Neolithic) in Lasinja-Culture, a mining site for silex (siliceous rock as
chert
Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...
,
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
, etc.). From there, tools ( hand axes, blades, scrapers, etc.) were won. Workpieces of this mining site were spread to a distance of away.
Since the 12th century, the Stift Rein has been a characteristic feature of the community. In Eisbach and in its surroundings, there were a number of mining operations, as for mercury and
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
* ''Pfarrkirche'' Parish church of St. Rupert church (Gratwein)
* The Sanctuary of Maria Straßengel was built in the 14th century and is one of the most important sacred buildings of the
high Gothic
High Gothic is a particularly refined and imposing style of Gothic architecture that appeared in northern France from about 1195 until 1250. Notable examples include Chartres Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, Amiens Cathedral, Beauvais Cathedral, and ...
in Austria. Particularly noteworthy is the filigree tower construction, which recalls those of the Freiburg Minster.
* The former cement kiln of Judendorf-Straßengel is an industrial monument.
* Stift Rein, today the oldest existing Cistercian monastery in the world in Rein
* ''Kleines Farm'' Little farm museum Eisbach-Rein
* ''Nostalgie-Rüsthaus'' Old fire brigade building Eisbach
Sports
* EC Ruffnecks Gratwein (ice hockey), founded in 2003, plays in the Styrian league
* GSV RB Gratwein (football)
Economy and infrastructure
Transportation
The proximity to the town of Graz is very well connected. It is not located directly on one of the main roads, but on the regional road from Gratkorn to Eisbach. Through this connection, the Grazerstraße B 67 achieve. The nearest interchanges to the Pyhrn motorway A 9 are Deutschfeistritz (exit 165) at about northbound and Gratkorn (exit 173) six km southbound.
In the municipality area lies the Bahnhof Gratwein-Gratkorn and the stop Judendorf-Straßengel of the Austrian Southern Railway, with half-hourly to hourly train connections (S1) to Graz and Bruck an der Mur.
The Graz Airport is about away.
Politics
Municipal council
The municipal council consists of 31 members and is composed from the following parties since the 2015 municipal elections:
* 16
SPÖ
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 ...
* 8
FPÖ
The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aust ...
* 3
ÖVP
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 ...
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
(crest description):
: "A silver cross of blue and green shield; at top, a golden cherub head; at right, a silver leafy wine branch; at left a silver 5-part leafed beech branch, and underneath is the golden curvature of an abbey."
The crosier point points to the old, important Rein Cistercian monastery.
Twin cities
* of the former town of Eisbach
**
Ebrach
Ebrach is a municipality with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg (district), Bamberg and the seat of the ''Municipal association, Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Ebrach.
Geography
Ebrach lies between Ba ...
(Bavaria), since 1979
* of the former town of Judendorf-Straßengel
**
Komárom
Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate villag ...
(Hungary)
Notable residents
*
Anton Wolfradt
Anton Franz Wolfradt, O.Cist., O.S.B. (9 July 1582, Cologne – 1 April 1639, Vienna) was a Cistercian and Benedictine, Abbot of Wilhering then Kremsmünster, Prince-Bishop of Vienna, and President of the Hofkammer.
Biography
Anton Wolfradt ...
(1582–1639), Hofkammer president, Cistercian, abbot of Kremsmunster and Catholic Bishop of Vienna, was from 1609 to 1612 pastor of Gratwein
* Gottfried Prabitz (1926–2015), Austrian sculptor
* Othmar Krenn (1952–1998), Austrian artist, creator of "art train", born in Gratwein
*
Gundis Zámbó
Gundis Zámbó (born 5 June 1966 in Gratwein, Styria) is a Germans, German actress with Austrians, Austrian and Hungarian people, Hungarian origin.Clemens Maria Schreiner (born 1989), Austrian cabaret artist, lives in Gratwein
* Christian Scherübl (born 1994), Austrian swimmer, junior European champion, born in Gratwein
Sources
* Ingo Mirsch: ''Marktgemeinde Judendorf-Straßengel - Die Geschichte'', about the market town, erhältlich im Gemeindeamt.
* Ingo Mirsch: ''Judendorf in alten Ansichten'', Herausgeber: European Bibliothek, .
* Marianne Gerstenberger: ''Maria Straßengel'', Herausgeber: Pfarramt.