Berndorf is a town in the district of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Because of its historic development in the 19th century it is also referred to as the

Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...

town.

Districts

The town consists of 4 districts: * Berndorf-Stadt * St. Veit * Ödlitz * Veitsau / Steinhof

Settlements

* Kolonie

History

Artefacts from various epoques of the Stone Age prove that there was a settlement in this region. ''Perindorf'' is likely to have its name from a man named ''Pero'', who settled here in 1070. The name ''Perendorf'' was first mentioned in 1133. Throughout the following centuries, Berndorf was ravaged by the Magyars and the Ottomans. In the 18th century, metal-working companies such as ''Neuhirtenberger Kupferhammer'', which used the first steam engine in all of Lower Austria in 1836, settled in this region. Before that, hydropower coming from the

Triesting The Triesting is a river of Lower Austria, in the southeastern part of the Vienna Woods. Its drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows i ...

was the main energy source. In the 19th century the majority of the inhabitants of Berndorf and its neighbouring villages worked in the metal industry. In 1844, Berndorf consisted of no more than 50 houses with about 180 inhabitants, when the

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware) includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. While most cutlers ...

factory of Alexander Schoeller and Hermann Krupp was founded. Initially, there were 50 workers, but throughout the years, the company developed and turned into a multi-national combine with over 6,000 employees. The development of the city of Berndorf was closely related to the history of the

family. Arthur Krupp, son of Hermann Krupp, founded a private

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

and a public swimming pool, as well as the neo-baroque St. Margaret's church. In 1923, the communities of Berndorf, St. Veit, Ödlitz and Veitsau were united and formed the city of Berndorf. After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

in 1938, the Arthur Krupp company became a part of the German Krupp combine. Because of its industrial importance, Berndorf was also an important target of air attacks. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Berndorf was not even spared the forces of nature. The floods in 1939 and 1944 were the most destructive floods in the history of the Triesting river. When the war had ended, the metal company was confiscated by the Soviet Army and incorporated into the USIA. In 1957, it was given back to the State of Austria and merged with the ''Vereinigte Aluminiumwerke Ranshofen (VAW)''. Because of financial problems of the socialised industries in the 1980s, the Berndorf consortium was spun off and passed into private hands.

Population

Culture

Theatre

The annual theatre festival takes place in the municipal theatre of Berndorf every summer.

Sights

* Municipal Theatre of Berndorf * Krupp schools * Guglzipf with its look-out * Krupp Stadt Museum * The iron bear * St. Margaret's Church * St. Mary's Church

Twin cities

* Ōhasama (

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, now a part of Hanamaki) * Sigmundsherberg

References

External links

the city of Berndorf, only in German

Krupp Stadt Museum, only in German
* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Baden District, Austria Krupp