Amstetten, Lower Austria

Amstetten (German pronunciation: [amˈʃtɛtən]) is a town in Lower Austria. It is the capital of the Amstetten District and the centre of the historical region Mostviertel ("Most" -cider, "viertel"- a quarter of the provence Lower Austria)

Geography

Amstetten is situated between Linz (60 km) and Vienna (120 km) on the highway and just over an hour from Vienna by highspeed-train, and lies on the river Ybbs and Url as well near the Danube river.

History

There are traces of human settlements from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age in the area. The first permanent settlement in the area to be mentioned in written sources was Ulmerfeld, mentioned in 995. The first mention of Amstetten itself is dated to 1111. In 1858, the town was linked to the rest of Austria-Hungary by railroad. Since 1868, it has also been the seat of the local district administration. During World War II, there were two subcamps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Amstetten.^[2] The town was home to Josef Fritzl and Josef Hickersberger.^[3]

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1869	4,313	—
1880	6,086	+41.1%
1890	7,254	+19.2%
1900	10,287	+41.8%
1910	14,415	+40.1%
1923	14,715	+2.1%
1934	17,311	+17.6%
1939	18,574	+7.3%
1951	17,380	−6.4%
1961	19,086	+9.8%
1971	21,695	+13.7%
1981	21,989	+1.4%
1991	21,972	−0.1%
2001	22,595	+2.8%
2011	22,948	+1.6%

Local economy

The Doka Group, a major international producer/supplier of formwork, has their company headquarters in Amstetten.

Schools

Amstetten has a variety of schools which cater to the needs of its residents, and residents of neighbouring villages. These include a Gymnasium, HLW Amstetten and HAK Amstetten. Language learning in Amstetten is enhanced greatly by the presence of English Language Assistants from the UK and USA, who also run regular extra-curricular events in the local area.^[4] There is also a vocational boarding school for technical professions and craftsman education.

Shopping

Amstetten provides good shopping opportunities for its residents. There is a shopping centre with clothes shops, shoe shops, a supermarket, technology shops and other amenities. The shopping centre also has free WiFi. Amstetten's high street has some clothes shops and several restaurants. There are two second hand shops in Amstetten where good quality clothes can be purchased cheaply. There are several large supermarkets including an Interspar, Merkur and Hofer.

Culture

Unfortunately, details of Amstetten's culture scene are not easily found online. For detailed information of events in Amstetten, the City Hall (Rathaus) can provide programmes and leaflets. Johann Pölz Halle is the local concert hall where school balls, theatre performances and concerts are held.^[5] Amstetten has an annual 'Kulturwochen', a series of weeks in Autumn dedicated to Culture. This includes performances from the Amstetten Symphony Orchestra and local Amateur dramatic groups, as well as professional theatre, cabarets, story-telling, lectures and exhibitions. In Winter, Amstetten has its own Christmas Market. In Summer, a summer musical theatre made of amateurs and professionals entertains in what is called Musicalsummer Amstetten^[6]

Sights

Amstetten-Mauer hospital chapel

Amstetten has several churches. There is a small wood and a river for walking opportunities. There is an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, the 'Naturbad', which is designed to bring the aesthetics of a natural pool into a manmade pool.^[7] The pool has a sauna and a slide.^[8] There are several gyms in Amstetten as well as a dance and music school.

Nightlife

Amstetten has several bars and clubs. K1 is in a cellar and is popular among the younger party-goers.^[9] There are also two metal bars including the 'Pandora Bar'.

Transport

Amstetten has a train station and is served by OEBB trains and the Westbahn trains.^[10]^[11] From the station, there are direct rail services to Linz and Vienna, as well as local tourist attraction Melk.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Amstetten is twinned with:

Alsfeld, Hesse, Germany (1979)
Ruelle-sur-Touvre, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France (1992)
Pergine Valsugana, Trentino, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy (1999)

Notable people from this town

Theodor von Frimmel (1853-1928), art historian, musicologist and Beethoven researcher
Friedl Czepa (1898-1973), actress
Josef Fritzl (born 1935), criminal, see Fritzl case
Jochem Schindler (1944-1994), Indo-Europeanist
Manfred Wagner (1944), culture - and musicologist
Josef Hickersberger (born 1948), football player and coach
Erwin Wagenhofer (born 1961), author and filmmaker
Hermann Fehringer (born 1962), pole vaulter
Georg Breinschmid (born 1973), bassist, composer and jazz musician
Michael Klukowski (born 1981), football player
Daniel Kogler (born 1988), football player

References

Notes

Municipalities in the district of Amstetten

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 157109652 GND: 4001784-9

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