Reichenau an der Rax is a

market town 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 ...

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 ...

, situated at the foot of the Rax mountain range on the '' Schwarza'' river, a headstream of the

Leitha The Leitha (; or , formerly ; Czech and sk, Litava) is a river in Austria and Hungary, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long ( including its source river Schwarza). Its basin area is . Etymology The ''Lithaha'' River in the Carolingia ...

History

Reichenau castle was first mentioned in a 1256 deed. Duke Otto IV the Merry, who in 1327 had established the abbey of Neuberg, acquired Reichenau in 1333 and granted it to the monastery. Original an

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...

mining and forestry area, Reichenau due to its picturesque setting became a summer resort of the

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

nobility in the 19th century. From 1854 on the development of the area was decisively promoted by the opening of the Semmering railway line with a train station in neighbouring

Payerbach Payerbach is a town in the district of Neunkirchen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the n ...

, part of the

Austrian Southern Railway The Austrian Southern Railway (german: link=no, Österreichische Südbahn) is a long double track railway, which linked the capital Vienna with Trieste, former main seaport of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, by railway for the first time. It now ...

''(Südbahn)'' from the Vienna '' Südbahnhof'' to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. Reichenau was directly connected to Payerbach by the '' Höllentalbahn'' narrow gauge railway in 1926 at the same time with the opening of the ''Raxseilbahn'', the oldest

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

in Austria. In 1873 a drinking water pipeline to Vienna was built to supply the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

capital with mountain water rising from the Rax range. Reichenau an der Rax - Schloss Rothschild (b)

In 1872

Archduke Charles Louis of Austria Archduke Karl Ludwig Josef Maria of Austria (30 July 1833 – 19 May 1896) was the younger brother of both Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, and the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863–1914), whose assassin ...

had the ''Villa Wartholz'' residence erected near his favourite hunting grounds, according to plans by

Heinrich von Ferstel Freiherr Heinrich von Ferstel (7 July 1828 14 July 1883) was an Austrian architect and professor, who played a vital role in building late 19th-century Vienna. Life The son of Ignaz Ferstel (17961866), a bank clerk and later director of the ...

. In 1889

Nathaniel Anselm von Rothschild Nathaniel Meyer von Rothschild (26 October 1836 – 16 June 1905) was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, known as art collector and patron. Life Born in Vienna, he was the fifth child and first son of Anselm von Rothschild (180 ...

followed with the building of Hinterleiten Palace. He however did not spend much time in Reichenau and shortly afterwards donated the palais to a veterans foundation, while the

Villa Wartholz The Villa Wartholz or Castle Wartholz is a former imperial villa in Reichenau an der Rax in Lower Austria. History Villa Wartholz was designed by Heinrich von Ferstel in the historicist style in the years 1870 to 1872 for Archduke Karl Ludwi ...

remained a seat of the Habsburg family, especially of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and his wife

Zita Zita (c. 1212 – 27 April 1272; also known as Sitha or Citha) is an Italian saint, the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. She is often appealed to in order to help find lost keys. She is often confused with St. Osyth or Ositha, ...

; their first son,

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

, was born and baptized there, and when Charles become Emperor of Austria,

was his summer residence in the years 1917 and 1918. Reichenau was also the summer retreat of the author

Heimito von Doderer Franz Carl Heimito, Ritter von Doderer; known as Heimito von Doderer (5 September 1896 23 December 1966) was an Austrian writer. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Family Heimito von Doderer was born in Weidlinga ...

, where he wrote large parts of his novel ''Die Strudlhofstiege''. The priest

Heinrich Maier Heinrich Maier (; 16 February 1908 – 22 March 1945) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, pedagogue, philosopher and a member of the Austrian resistance, who was executed as the last victim of Hitler's régime in Vienna. The resistance grou ...

, head of the spectacular Austrian resistance group during the Nazi era, was a chaplain in Reichenau in the 1930s. His very successful Catholic resistance group very successfully passed on plans and production facilities for V-1, V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks and aircraft (Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, etc.) to the Allies. This enabled the Allies to target decisive armaments factories and to protect residential areas.Hansjakob Stehle "Die Spione aus dem Pfarrhaus (German: The spy from the rectory)" In: Die Zeit, 5 January 1996.

Notable people

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

, head of the

House of 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 ...

from 1922 to 2006, was born at ''Villa Wartholz'' in Reichenau on 20 November 1912. *

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...

died in Edlach, a village of Reichenau an der Rax

Transport

Beside the ''Südbahn'' railway line, Reichenau can be reached via the ''B27 Höllental Straße''

federal highway Federal Highways and Federal Routes can be found in: *Australia: Federal Highway *Brazil: Brazilian Federal Highway and Brazilian Highway System *Germany: ''Bundesstraßen'' *Malaysia: Federal Highway and Malaysian Federal Roads System *Mexico: ...

running from

Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...

and the ''S6 Semmering Schnellstraße'' expressway to

Rohr im Gebirge Rohr im Gebirge is a village in the Wiener Neustadt-Land district of Lower Austria in Austria. Geography Rohr im Gebirge is located in the Industrieviertel, the first industrialised part of Lower Austria. Of its 80.58 square kilometers, 89.95% is ...

References

Gallery

Hirschwang - Villa Schoeller.JPG, Hirschwang - Villa Schoeller Hirschwang-Reichenau 2.JPG, Hirschwang-Reichenau Reichenau - Thalhofstr Museumsbahn 02.JPG, Höllental Railway near the Thalhof road Reichenau an der Rax Villa Wartholz 1900.jpg, Villa Wartholz Theater Reichenau.jpg, Theater Reichenau - Thalhofstr im Herbst.JPG, Schlösschen on the Thalhof road Reichenau - Thalhofstr - Blick ins Tal zum Feuchter.JPG, Thalhof road - View into the valley to Feuchter Reichenau an der Rax, Pfarrhof, ehemalige Doringer-Villa.jpg, Vicarage, former Villa Doringer Höllentalbahn (Niederösterreich) Betriebsgebäude in Reichenau.jpg, Höllental Railway operations building Reichenau an der Rax, Schlossanlage Reichenau.jpg, Schloss Reichenau Reichenau - Wartholzkreuz.JPG, Wartholz Cross GuentherZ 2005-09-24 0059 Kaiserbrunn Kaiserbrunnen.jpg, Kaiser Fountain Reichenau - Raxseilbahn, Talstation.JPG, Valley station of the Rax cable car Reichenau an der Rax - Raxalm-Berggasthof.JPG, Top station with restaurant of the Rax cable car Reichenau an der Rax, Villa Waldhuette 3.jpg, Waldhütte Villa

External links

Pictures of Reichenau/Rax and information in English
{{authority control Cities and towns in Neunkirchen District, Austria