] Landau an der Isar (

Central Bavarian Central Bavarian form a subgroup of Bavarian dialects in large parts of Austria and the German state of Bavaria along the Danube river, on the northern side of the Eastern Alps. They are spoken in the ' Old Bavarian' regions of Upper Bavaria (wi ...

: ''Landa an da Isar'') is the second-largest

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 the Lower Bavarian district, or ''Landkreis'', of

Dingolfing-Landau Dingolfing-Landau is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Straubing-Bogen, Deggendorf, Rottal-Inn and Landshut. History The district was established in 1972 by merging t ...

, in the state of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It lies on the river

Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Munic ...

, 120 km downstream from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In 2020, its population was around 14,000.

History

Landau was founded in 1224 by the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

Ludwig I, Duke of Bavaria. The town had been a ''Pflegamt'' for many years and belonged to the Landshut ' of the Electorate-Principality (''Kurfürstentum'') of Bavaria. Landau possessed a town court with broad magisterial powers (Landgericht). Until the Bavarian county reform, or ''Kreisreform'' in German, in 1972, Landau was the district seat (''Kreisstadt'') of its own

Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

, having the license plate code LAN. In the reform, the former townships of Frammering, Mettenhausen, Reichersdorf and Zeholfing, along with parts of the townships of Kammern and Ganacker, were merged with the town of Landau. The incorporation of the townships of Nieder- and Oberhöcking followed in 1978.

Celebrities

Former Landauers

Uschi Glas Helga Ursula "Uschi" Glas (; born 2 March 1944), sometimes credited as Ursula Glas, is a German actress in film, television and on stage, and a singer. Biography Born in Landau an der Isar, Bavaria, Glas started appearing in films in 1965. ...

, actress *

Jakob Ziegler The humanist and theologian Jacob Ziegler (c. 1470/71 — August 1549) of Landau in Bavaria, was an itinerant scholar of geography and cartographer, who lived a wandering life in Europe. He studied at the University of Ingolstadt, then spent some ...

, mathematician * Christian Jungwirth, actor and radio DJ *

Manfred Böckl Manfred Böckl (born 2 September 1948) is a German writer who specialises in historical fiction. Since the 1980s, he has written novels that often revolve around Bavaria, crime, abuse of power and historical renegades and seers. He had a local b ...

, author * town pastor Johann Baptist Huber, opponent of the Nazi régime *

Norbert Niemann Norbert Niemann (born 20 May 1961, in Landau an der Isar) is a German writer. Life He grew up in Niederbayern. He studied literature, musicology and modern history at the University of Regensburg, and at the University of Munich. From 1983 to ...

, author

Honorary town citizens

* Alois Schlögl (1893–1957), CSU politician, member of the provincial parliament and Provincial Minister for Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry (1948–1954) * Arthur Piechler (1896–1974), Cathedral organist in Augsburg und composer * Hans Kick (1917–2000), 1st Mayor (1966–1984)

Sights to see

* Late Gothic parish church with important

winged altar A winged altarpiece (also ''folding altar'') or winged retable is a special form of altarpiece ( reredos, occasionally retable), common in Northern and Central Europe, in which the central image, either a painting or relief sculpture (or some c ...

associated with

Hans Leinberger Hans Leinberger, sometimes given as Lemberger (c.1475/1480 – after 1531) was a Late Gothic sculptor from Altbayern, who worked in wood, metal and stone. Life and work His exact birthplace is unknown, as is the place and manner of his artis ...

in Usterling * Town museum (''Heimatmuseum'') * Town parish church of the Virgin Mary; the parish church of the Assumption of Dormition of the Mother of God (feast day: 15 August) was constructed during the tenure of the town priest Fr. Phillip Rappoldsberger von Dominikus Magazin in 1713. It counts as the largest and most beautiful Baroque church structure in the lower Isar Valley. The church interior shines with the marvellous Baroque high altar and eight side altars. * Wildthurn Castle (''Schloss Wildthurn'') * Kastenhof Landau - The museum für Stone Age and present in the Kastenhof, a historic administarative building * The "Growing Rock" (''Wachsender Felsen'') in Usterling * The Devil's Stairway (''Teufelstritt'') in Zulling * The Boulder Church, or ''Steinfelskirche''; the church "At the Thrice-Great Mother in the Rock" originates from the period after the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

and was constructed under Fr. Phillip Rappoldsberger. It houses many votive panels from the 17th and 18th centuries and is counted among the most important pilgrimage churches of the lower Isar Valley.

Economy and infrastructure

Economy: prominent companies

* Brauerei Krieger * Einhell AG * Dräxlmaier Group * IBPmedien GmbH * Isoflock * Hefele KG * Huber GmbH * Spedition Niedermaier * vionic Dialog- und Internetmarketing

Traffic/roadways

The town is bound by the

Bundesstraße 20 ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

and the

Bundesautobahn 92 The connects Munich with Deggendorf, and is long. Between the interchange Neufahrn and the interchange Munich Airport it has three lanes, otherwise two with a shoulder. There is a traffic control system in the direction of Deggendorf until ri ...

and lies on the train line

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

–Wörth a.d.Isar–

Dingolfing Dingolfing is a town in southern Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the Landkreis (district) Dingolfing-Landau. Dingolfing is home of a BMW assembly plant. History The area now called Dingolfing was first mentioned in ''Tinguluinga'' in the y ...

–Landau a.d.Isar–Wallersdorf–

Plattling Plattling is a town in the district of Deggendorf, Bavaria, Germany, on the river Isar, 9 km southwest of Deggendorf, just before it enters the Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roma ...

Government offices

* Juvenile Detention Centre * Ministry for Rural Development * Forest Ministry * Ministry of Agriculture * Surveying Agency

References

External links

*
Website of the town's Gymnasium

''Landauer Zeitung'' (local newspaper; available through following link)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau An Der Isar Dingolfing-Landau