Ottensheim is a municipality in the district of

Urfahr-Umgebung Bezirk Urfahr-Umgebung () is a district of the state of Upper Austria in Austria. It is named after Urfahr, a former city, today a borough of Linz, seat of the district's administration (''Bezirkshauptmannschaft''). Municipalities Towns (''Stä ...

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

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

. In July 2008 it hosted the

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

, and it did so again in 2019.

History

First settlements in this area date from about 4000 BC. The first mention of the settlement in a document dates from 1148 AD. In 1228 AD, Ottensheim received the

market right A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

– as third town in Upper Austria, after

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

(1210) and Enns (1212). In 1527, 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 ...

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

Ferdinand I endowed the town and the castle to his chancellor Niklas Rabenhaupt von Suche, who expanded the castle. The coat of arms of Ottensheim dates from this time. Ottensheim has existed as a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

since 1848. At this time and until 1893 the now self-contended municipality

Puchenau Puchenau is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria bo ...

also belonged to Ottensheim. In 1871 the first ferry over the Danube was installed. It was destroyed by an

ice jam Ice jams occur when a topographic feature of the river causes floating river ice to accumulate and impede further progress downstream with the river current. Ice jams can significantly reduce the flow of a river and cause upstream flooding—som ...

eight years later, and rebuilt in 1882. In 1964 the now still working ferry boat was built. Every year since the 1990s an alternative music festival for about 2,000 people takes place on the Rodl park near the Danube river, the Open Air Ottensheim, where local and international rock, hip-hop and experimental music acts take place. Most residents work in the closest city,

. Ottensheim has many parks and sporting facilities as well as a secondary school, music school, cinema (est. 1919, one of the oldest in Upper Austria), police station and post office which also serves the neighbouring villages. Ottensheim also has Austria's 7th largest hydroelectric power plant, on the Danube.

Politics

The governor of Ottensheim is Mr Franz Füreder from the

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), who won the direct voting. The municipal council is formed by 10 mandates of the Austrian People's Party, 7 mandates of the

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), 7 of "Pro O" and one mandate of the right

Freedom Party of Austria 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 ...

(FPÖ). The left party

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 ...

does not exist in Ottensheim, but has, with 20 to 25%, the highest rate of voters in

in case of nationwide votes.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Urfahr-Umgebung District