Murau is 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 the western part 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 federal state of
Styria. It is the administrative seat of
Murau District
Bezirk Murau is a district of the state of Styria in Austria.
Municipalities
Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it consists of the following municipalities:
* Krakau
* Mühlen
* Murau
* Neumarkt in der Steiermark
* Niederwö ...
.
Geography
The historic town is located in mountainous
Upper Styria
Upper Styria (german: Obersteiermark), in the Austrian usage of the term, refers exclusively to the northwestern, generally mountainous and well-wooded half of the federal state of Styria. The southwestern half of the state around the capital of ...
in the valley of the
Mur river between the
Lower Tauern range and the
Gurktal Alps
The Gurktal Alps (german: Gurktaler Alpen, sl, Krške Alpe) is a mountain range located in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria, named after the valley of the Gurk river. The range stretches west to Lake Millstatt and east to Neumarkter Sattel ...
. The municipal area comprises the
cadastral communities of Laßnitz-Lambrecht, Murau proper and Sankt Egidi, as well as the former independent municipalities of
Laßnitz bei Murau
Laßnitz bei Murau is a former municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Murau.
Geography
Laßnitz lies between Murau and Sankt Lambrecht
Sankt Lamb ...
,
Stolzalpe
Stolzalpe is a former municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Murau
Murau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Styria. I ...
and
Triebendorf
Triebendorf is a former municipality in the district of Murau in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Murau.
Geography
Triebendorf lies about 6 km east of Murau
Mura ...
which were incorporated in the course of a 2015 administrative reform. Murau currently has a population of 3,688.
The town's economy largely depends on tourism, especially in the nearby
Kreischberg Kreischberg is an Austrian ski resort in Styria, Austria.
The area includes the adjacent Rosenkranzhöhe and offers 40 kilometres of slopes altogether. In December 2013, Kreischberg was considered the first 10-seater gondola in Styria. In recent ye ...
ski resort. It is also known for its
brewing tradition (''Murauer Bier'') documented since the 15th century. Murau station is a stop on the narrow-gauge
Mur Valley Railway
The ''Murtalbahn'' (literally translated, the Mur Valley Railway) is a narrow-gauge railway largely located in the state of Styria in Austria. The line runs along the valley of the River Mur from the market town of Unzmarkt through Murau to Tam ...
(''Murtalbahn''), running along the Mur river from
Unzmarkt
Unzmarkt-Frauenburg is a municipality in the district of Murtal in Styria, 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 ...
up to
Mauterndorf
Mauterndorf (Southern Bavarian: ''Mautndorf'') is a market town of the Tamsweg District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The municipality also comprises the Katastralgemeinden ''Faningberg, Neuseß'' and ''Steindorf''.
Geography
It is located in ...
in
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
.
History
The area was already settled in the Bronze Age through the Roman Era. Based on an entry in the ''
Tabula Peutingeriana
' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire.
The map is a 13th-ce ...
'' the ancient city of
Noreia
Noreia is an ancient lost city in the Eastern Alps, most likely in southern Austria. While according to Julius Caesar it is known to have been the capital of the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, it was already referred to as a lost city by Pliny the ...
, capital of the Celtic kingdom
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
, was thought to be near Murau in the late 18th and the 19th century. However, no archaeological evidence has been found so far.
![Murau Styria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Murau_Styria.jpg)
''Murowe'' itself, centre of the
Styrian estates in the Mur valley held by the noble Liechtenstein family, was first mentioned in a 1250 deed. The famous minnesinger
Ulrich von Liechtenstein
Ulrich von Liechtenstein (ca. 1200 – 26 January 1275) was a German minnesinger and poet of the Middle Ages. He wrote poetry in Middle High German and was author of noted works about how knights and nobles may lead more virtuous lives. Ulrich was ...
(d. 1275) from nearby
Frauenburg had a castle erected at Murau which was again demolished when the
Bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
king
Ottokar II occupied the Styrian lands upon his victory at
Kressenbrunn in 1260. Ulrich had to cede his estates to the king and was temporarily arrested in
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
.
The Liechtenstein estates were restored, when Ottokar was defeated in the 1278
Battle on the Marchfeld
The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava Field''; german: Schlacht auf dem Marchfeld; cs, Bitva na Moravském poli; hu, Morvamezei csata) at Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history o ...
. Ulrich's son Otto had the
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
parish church of St Matthew's with its characteristic
crossing tower
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church.
In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...
built from 1284, it was consecrated by the
Lavant bishop in 1296. The Murau citizens were vested with
town privileges
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...
in 1298, whereafter the town was fortified and significantly enlarged.
From 1480 to 1490, the town was occupied by the
Hungarian forces of 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 m ...
. The Liechtensteins held Murau until the late 16th century. From 1623 onwards, it was a possession of the
House of Schwarzenberg
The House of Schwarzenberg is a German ( Franconian) and Czech ( Bohemian) aristocratic family, and it was one of the most prominent European noble houses. The Schwarzenbergs are members of the German nobility and Czech nobility and they held the ...
who had Murau Castle rebuilt in its present
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
style. The present owner is
Karel Schwarzenberg
Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies ( ...
.
During
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 opposing ...
a camp of 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 previo ...
armed forces was located here, in which captured
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
prisoners of war were held enthralled. At the end of the war in May 1945, local groups of
resistance fighters freed eight remaining POWs and successfully led the approaching
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
forces to believe that the town was already occupied by the British.
Population
Events
upright=1.25, '' Julius Caesar'' by William Shakespeare performed in Murau, 2014
The ''Murtalbahn'' steam train is a historic part of the town, as well as one of its tourist attractions. Murau is also known for its annual
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
parades on August 15.
Since 2002, the annual festival
Shakespeare in Styria file:Shakespeare in Styria 0005 Peralta.jpg, 300px, upright=1.25, ''Julius Caesar (play), Julius Caesar'' by William Shakespeare performed in Murau, 2014
Shakespeare in Styria was an annual Shakespeare festival in the Upper Styrian town of Murau in ...
presents productions of Shakespeare plays in the town's Festival Hall, in the Courtyard of the Murau Castle as well as at the Domenig Pavillon in the park of the town. The festival was founded in 2002 by British born theatre manager
Nicholas Allen and Austrian writer
Rudolph J. Wojta. Each year it presents another play performed by young actors and actresses from all over Europe directed by experienced British directors. In the early years of the festivals performances were in English. Since 2013 productions are performed in German and directed by Nicholas Allen and US-American sword-master
Roberta Brown. Since the summer of 2016, the festival has been based at
St. Lambrecht Abbey, some 14 kilometres from Murau and no performance have taken place in Murau.
Politics
![Rathaus entzerrt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Rathaus_entzerrt.jpg)
Seats in the town's assembly (''Stadtrat'') as of 2015 local elections:
*
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 15
*
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 3
*''Forum für Murau'' (
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
): 1
*
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 — sister cities
Murau is
twinned with:
*
Fagagna
Fagagna ( fur, Feagne) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine. As of 2011, it had a population of 6,279 and an area of . ...
, Italy
Notable people
*
Willi Egger
Wilhelm "Willi" Egger (7 October 1932 – 29 April 2008) was an Austrian Nordic combined skier and ski jumper who competed from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s.
Born in Murau, he won three events as a ski jumper in the Four Hills Tournament wit ...
(1932–2008), Nordic combined skier
*
Brunner & Brunner (born 1955 and 1958 resp.), pop duo
*
Klaus Ofner
Klaus Ofner (born 15 August 1968 in Murau, Steiermark) is an Austrian nordic combined skier who competed during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He won a bronze medal in the Nordic combined 3 x 10 km team event at the 1992 Winter Olympics i ...
(born 1968), Nordic combined skier
References
External links
murau.steiermark.at (German)
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Murau District