Weitra (; cs, Vitoraz) is a small
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 district of
Gmünd 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
![Weitra 2003 File4346](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Weitra_2003_File4346.jpg)
The municipality is situated amidst the extended forests of the rural
Waldviertel
The (Forest Quarter; Central Bavarian: ) is the northwestern region of the northeast Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and the north by the Czech Rep ...
region, close to the border with the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. It is located on the upper
Lainsitz (''Lužnice'') river, a tributary of the
Vltava
Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at ...
(Moldau) north of the
European watershed. The town's economy mainly relies on agriculture and forestry, but also on summer tourism.
Weitra consists of the
cadastral communities of Brühl, Großwolfgers, Oberwindhag, Reinprechts, Spital, St. Wolfgang, Sulz, Walterschlag, Weitra proper, and Wetzles.
History
A first castle at Weitra was built from about 1201 onwards at the behest of the
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
noble
Hadmar II of Kuenring, also owner of
Dürnstein Castle
Dürnstein Castle (german: Burgruine Dürnstein) is the ruin of a medieval rock castle in Austria. It is located in Dürnstein, in the Lower Austrian Wachau region on the Danube river, at above sea level.
History
The castle was erected in the e ...
where King
Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
was imprisoned in the winter of 1192/93. The Kuenring (or
Kühnring) family of ''
ministeriales
The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire.
The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...
'' had acquired the originally
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 ...
estates in 1185; they fell from grace after the extinction of the Austrian ducal
House of Babenberg
The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its ...
in 1246, as they had sided with King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his dea ...
against the rising
Habsburg dynasty. Ottokar was defeated by the Habsburg king
Rudolf I of Germany
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum whic ...
at 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 ...
, and Rudolph's son, Duke
Albert I of Austria, finally seized Weitra in 1296. A city wall was first mentioned in the late 13th century.
![Schloss weitra 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Schloss_weitra_01.jpg)
The fortress on the Bohemian border was besieged by
Hussite
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Huss ...
forces as well as by
Hungarian troops under
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 ...
in 1486. In 1581, the Habsburg emperor
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
enfeoffed Weitra to his
chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
Wolf Rumpf who had the medieval 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. In 1607, the
Swabian count
Frederick IV of Fürstenberg, husband of Rumpf's widow, inherited the fief. During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, the castle was again attacked by
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
forces under General
Lennart Torstenson
Lennart Torstensson, Count of Ortala, Baron of Virestad (17 August 16037 April 1651), was a Swedish Field Marshal and military engineer.
Early career
He was born at Forstena manor in Västergötland. His parents were Märta Nilsdotter Posse a ...
in 1645. After several blazes, the owners of the
Fürstenberg-Weitra
Fürstenberg-Weitra was a cadet branch of the princely House of Fürstenberg, originally from Donaueschingen in Swabia, in present-day southwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. From 1744 onwards the landgravial line resided at Weitra Castle in ...
cadet branch had parts of the castle rebuilt in a
Baroque design. The comital (from 1664
princely
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
) House of
Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to:
Historical states
* Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559)
* Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614)
* Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698)
* Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...
held the extended Weitra estates until the
Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
. Up to today, the noble family owns the castle, which was extensively restored in 1994.
Beside its historic textile industry, Weitra is known as the oldest
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
-producing site in Austria with several
breweries documented since the 14th century. In 1903, the town received access to a
narrow gauge railway line to
Gmünd, since 2001 run as a
heritage railway. After World War II, the economy suffered from the town's peripheral location near the
Iron Curtain. Since 1959, Weitra houses a
garrison of the
Austrian Armed Forces
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...
.
Politics
![Rathaus Weitra 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Rathaus_Weitra_02.JPG)
Seats in the municipal council (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2020 elections:
*
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 16
*
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 3
*
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"Aus ...
(FPÖ): 2
Notable people
*
Hiedler/Hitler family
**
Klara Hitler
Klara Hitler (''née'' Pölzl; 12 August 1860 – 21 December 1907) was the mother of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany.
Family background and marriage
Born in the Austrian village of Spital, Weitra, Waldviertel, Austrian Empire, her fath ...
''née'' Pölzl (1860–1907), mother of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, 1860 in the hamlet of Spital. She was the daughter of
Johanna Hiedler (1830−1906), a local peasant woman, and by her maternal grandfather
Johann Nepomuk Hiedler
Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, alternatively spelled as Johann Nepomuk Hüttler (19 March 1807 – 17 September 1888), was the maternal great-grandfather and possibly also the paternal grandfather of Adolf Hitler.
His first two names are the same ...
(1807−1888) a distant cousin of her later husband
Alois Hitler
Alois Hitler (born Alois Schicklgruber; 7 June 1837 – 3 January 1903) was an Austrian civil servant in the customs service, and the father of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945.
Alois Schicklgruber was born out of we ...
from nearby Strones,
Döllersheim
Döllersheim is an abandoned village in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, located in the rural Waldviertel region about northwest of Vienna. It was evacuated in 1938 to make way for a Wehrmacht training ground. Since 1 January 1964 it has been ...
. Alois Hitler also lived in Spital between 1842-1850, raised by Johann Nepomuk Hiedler after he was abandoned by his mother as a five-year-old.
**
Johann Georg Hiedler
Johann Georg Hiedler (28 February 1792 – 9 February 1857) was a journeyman miller who was officially considered to be the paternal grandfather of Adolf Hitler by Nazi Germany. However, whether Hiedler was in fact Hitler's biological paterna ...
, an Austrian official and possible grandfather of Adolf Hitler.
**
Johanna Hiedler, the maternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler.
**
Johann Nepomuk Hiedler
Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, alternatively spelled as Johann Nepomuk Hüttler (19 March 1807 – 17 September 1888), was the maternal great-grandfather and possibly also the paternal grandfather of Adolf Hitler.
His first two names are the same ...
, the possible great-great-grandfather of Adolf Hitler.
*
Ludwig and Maria Knapp
Ludwig Knapp and his wife Maria Knapp are both Austrian Righteous Among the Nations.
In 1944, Ludwig Knapp and his wife Maria were the owners of a sawmill and an agricultural farm in Weitra in Gmünd in Lower Austria.
The couple saw how hard th ...
, owners of a sawmill and a farm in Weitra, declared
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...
by Israel's
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
.
References
External links
Tourism and Recreation - Stadtgemeinde Weitra - Niederösterreich
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Gmünd District