Kleinzell is a town in the district of

Lilienfeld Lilienfeld () is a city in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), Austria, south of St. Pölten, noted as the site of Lilienfeld Abbey. It is also the site of a regional hospital Landesklinikum Voralpen Lilienfeld. The city is located in the valley ...

in 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 of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

Geography

Kleinzell is the third largest municipality in the district of Lilienfeld with a size of about 93.09km². Kleinzell is situated in the Halbachtal in the

Gutenstein Alps The Gutenstein Alps (german: Gutensteiner Alpen) are a mountain range in the Eastern Alps in Central Europe, and the northeasternmost part of the Northern Limestone Alps, reaching heights over 1,000 m. Topography Die Gutenstein Alps are ...

about 55 kilometres southwest of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and 25 kilometres south of

Sankt Pölten Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. St. Pölten ...

. The municipal area is mountainous, the highest mountains include the

Reisalpe The Reisalpe (1,399 m) is the highest mountain in the Gutenstein Alps and lies between Lilienfeld, Hohenberg and Kleinzell in Lower Austria. It is a popular destination, both for hikers in summer and also for ski mountaineering and snowshoe wa ...

(1399m) and the Hochstaff (1305m). The proportion of forest in the municipal area is very high at 84.7%. 11.9% are permanent settlement areas. Kleinzell can be reached from the north ( Gölsental) and from the south ( Kalte Kuchl) via the L133. In the east, the L132 leads to Ramsau via the Dürrholzer Kreuz.

Municipal structure

Kleinzell is divided into the following settlements (in parentheses population size as of January 1, 2021): * Außerhalbach (87) * Ebenwald (31) * Innerhalbach (96) * Kleinzell (640)

Population

Sights

The small parish church in Kleinzell was built in the 14th Century. It is stately perched on top of the hill. Fifty-six stairs lead up to the parish built in honor of Mary's Assumption into heaven. The wooden altar was created by Linz sculptor Ludwig Linzinger in 1897 as part of the neo-Gothic renovations. The relief shows the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the announcement made by the Angel Gabriel saying that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus. Cross ribbed ceiling. Artistically carved, wooden Stations of the Cross hang on the walls. The oldest bell in the district tolls every Saturday at noon as a reminder that once sirens blared warning the villagers of impending bomb attacks. The refurbished chamber organ was built by Ignaz Gatto "The Elder" in AD 1750. Pfarrkirche Kleinzell 2

Politics

The Kleinzell municipal council has 15 seats, which are divided as follows (2020 Lower Austria local elections): * 11 seats: Österreichische Volkspartei Kleinzell * 2 seats: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs und Parteifreie * 2 seats: FPÖ und Unabhängige

Public facilities

Kleinzell has a kindergarten and a primary school. Kleinzell Volksschule

Personalities

This is also the hometown of Gertrude Kerschner. Her life story can be found in "Through Innocent Eyes - The Chosen Girls of the Hitler Youth."

References

Cities and towns in Lilienfeld District Gutenstein Alps {{LowerAustria-geo-stub