Wollaberg is a small town in the district of
Freyung-Grafenau
Freyung-Grafenau is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Passau, Deggendorf and Regen, the Czech Republic and by Austria.
History
The district was established in 1972, by ...
in
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
Geography
Wollaberg is located in the southern Bavarian Forest, not far from the Czech and Austrian borders. It is not far from Passau, the gateway to the Bavarian Forest. It located at an altitude of 769 m above sea level and has about 500 inhabitants. Wollaberg is one of the seven so-called artists villages in the region. The local population is predominantly Catholic.
History
Theories behind the name Wollaberg
There are several theories for the name Wollaberg.
The name Wollaberg may point to a Roman origin because the local
Teuton
The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...
inhabitants called the Romans Walschen or Walchen. This hypothesis was proposed by Georg Brand, pastor in Wollaberg from 1893 to 1903. However, Wollaberg is situated outside the boundaries of the former Roman Empire. Perhaps scattered Romans settled here when the Roman Empire collapsed.
Alternatively, Wollaberg could come from wallern (wallfahren), which one can rather assume. Probably already in the 12th century a little church stood on the Wollaberg. Freyung church bills mention pilgrimages since 1591 and especially in the year of plague 1599 "when they went to Wallenperg".
Another theory was pursued by Wollaberg-born prelate Dr. Schmöller. He considered that Wollaberg was formed from the surrounding villages around 1257, because at that time this area was given by the Bishop of Passau, Otto von Lonsdorf, as a fief to the nearby castles to pay his war debt. Therefore, the owners of these castles tried as soon as possible to settle in this area in order to gain income themselves from tithes and rents.
Freyung-Grafenau
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