Braunau am Inn
Encyclopedia
Braunau am Inn is a town in the Innviertel
region of Upper Austria
(Oberösterreich), the north-western state
of Austria
. It lies about 90 km west of Linz
and about 60 km north of Salzburg
, on the border with the German
state
of Bavaria
. The population in 2001 was 16,372. A port of entry
, it is connected by bridges over the River Inn with its Bavarian counterpart, Simbach am Inn
. It is well known as the birthplace of Adolf Hitler
.
The town was first mentioned around 810 and received a statute in 1260, which makes it one of the oldest towns in Austria. It became a fortress town and important trading route junction, dealing with the salt
trade and with ship traffic on the River Inn.
Throughout its history, it changed hands four times. It was Bavaria
n until 1779 and became an Austrian town under the terms of the treaty of Teschen
, which settled the War of the Bavarian Succession. As a major Bavarian settlement, the town played an outstanding role in the Bavarian uprising against the Austrian occupation during the War of the Spanish Succession
, when it hosted the Braunau Parliament, a provisional Bavarian Parliament in 1705 headed by Georg Sebastian Plinganser born 1680 in Pfarrkirchen; and died 7 May 1738 in Augsburg
. Under the terms of the treaty of Pressburg, Braunau became Bavarian again in 1809. In 1816, during reorganisation of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars
, Bavaria ceded the town to Austria and was compensated by the gain of Aschaffenburg
. Braunau has been Austrian ever since.
Braunau has a remarkable 15th-century church with a 99m-high spire, the third highest in Austria. Its patron saint is St. Stephen. The remains of a castle
house a museum
and parts of the former town walls
can still be seen. Another museum is housed in refurbished 18th century public baths.
Adolf Hitler
was born in Braunau am Inn on 20 April 1889. He and his family left Braunau and moved to Passau
in 1892. In 1989 the old mayor Gerhard Skiba
took the initiative and placed a memorial stone
commemorating the victims of World War II
in front of the building in which Hitler was born. The stone is made of granite from the Mauthausen concentration camp. It states, Für Frieden, Freiheit und Demokratie. Nie wieder Faschismus. Millionen Tote mahnen, or "For peace, freedom and democracy; millions of dead urge: never again fascism." It is often vandalised by members of neo-Nazi groups. In 2011, the town council revoked the honorary citizenship that had been awarded to Hitler in 1933.
In 1938, Ranshofen, which at that time had one of Austria's largest aluminium plants, was annexed to Braunau.
In 1948, Braunau had a population of 11,744.
Braunau has a full range of industries including electronics
, metal
(AMAG
), woodworking
, and glass
. The town also has the largest aluminium works in Austria.
After two successful seasons, the local football team, SV Braunau, reached the Austrian 1st Division
before suddenly going bankrupt in 2000. The team was refounded as FC Braunau.
Innviertel
The Innviertel is a traditional Austrian region south-east of the Inn river. It forms the western part of the state of Upper Austria and borders the German state of Bavaria...
region of Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
(Oberösterreich), the north-western state
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. It lies about 90 km west of Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
and about 60 km north of Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, on the border with the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. The population in 2001 was 16,372. A port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
, it is connected by bridges over the River Inn with its Bavarian counterpart, Simbach am Inn
Simbach am Inn
Simbach am Inn is a town on the Inn in the Rottal-Inn district of Bavaria, Germany. The Austrian city Braunau am Inn lies on the opposite side of the river from Simbach.-History:Simbach was one of the first places where electricity was used...
. It is well known as the birthplace of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
History
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
trade and with ship traffic on the River Inn.
Throughout its history, it changed hands four times. It was Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n until 1779 and became an Austrian town under the terms of the treaty of Teschen
Treaty of Teschen
The Treaty of Teschen was signed on May 13, 1779, in Cieszyn , Austrian Silesia, between Austria and Prussia, which officially ended the War of the Bavarian Succession sparked by the death of Elector Maximilian III Joseph...
, which settled the War of the Bavarian Succession. As a major Bavarian settlement, the town played an outstanding role in the Bavarian uprising against the Austrian occupation during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, when it hosted the Braunau Parliament, a provisional Bavarian Parliament in 1705 headed by Georg Sebastian Plinganser born 1680 in Pfarrkirchen; and died 7 May 1738 in Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. Under the terms of the treaty of Pressburg, Braunau became Bavarian again in 1809. In 1816, during reorganisation of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Bavaria ceded the town to Austria and was compensated by the gain of Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
. Braunau has been Austrian ever since.
Braunau has a remarkable 15th-century church with a 99m-high spire, the third highest in Austria. Its patron saint is St. Stephen. The remains of a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
house a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
and parts of the former town walls
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
can still be seen. Another museum is housed in refurbished 18th century public baths.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was born in Braunau am Inn on 20 April 1889. He and his family left Braunau and moved to Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
in 1892. In 1989 the old mayor Gerhard Skiba
Gerhard Skiba
Gerhard Skiba of the Austrian Social Democratic Party was elected mayor of the city of Braunau am Inn in 1989. He became internationally known after setting up a memorial stone for the victims of Fascism in front of the house where Adolf Hitler was born.In 1992 representatives from Bautzen,...
took the initiative and placed a memorial stone
Hitler birthplace memorial stone
The Hitler birthplace memorial stone is a memorial to victims of the Nazis placed in front of Salzburger Vorstadt 15, Braunau am Inn, Upper Austria, the building where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889.-Birth house of Hitler:...
commemorating the victims of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in front of the building in which Hitler was born. The stone is made of granite from the Mauthausen concentration camp. It states, Für Frieden, Freiheit und Demokratie. Nie wieder Faschismus. Millionen Tote mahnen, or "For peace, freedom and democracy; millions of dead urge: never again fascism." It is often vandalised by members of neo-Nazi groups. In 2011, the town council revoked the honorary citizenship that had been awarded to Hitler in 1933.
In 1948, Braunau had a population of 11,744.
Braunau has a full range of industries including electronics
Electronics manufacturing
The industrial electronics manufacturing process for the electronic assemblies found in many of today's electronic devices, is a multi-step process.-Component and PCB manufacturing:...
, metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
(AMAG
Austria Metall AG
AMAG is situated in the village of Ranshofen which is in Braunau am Inn and was founded in 1938.It is the biggest company in the Austrian Aluminium industry sector and is part of Constantia Packaging AG.- Companies:...
), woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
, and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
. The town also has the largest aluminium works in Austria.
After two successful seasons, the local football team, SV Braunau, reached the Austrian 1st Division
Austrian Football First League
The Austrian Football First League is the second highest professional division in Austrian football. It contains 10 teams and is run in the same fashion as the Austrian Bundesliga...
before suddenly going bankrupt in 2000. The team was refounded as FC Braunau.
External links
- Official website of Braunau
- Books by Anna Rosmus contain multiple photos of Braunau in 1945: Valhalla Finale, 350 pp, Dorfmeister, Tittling, 2009,ijfdijspohirjeah (hardcover) ISBN 3-9810084-7-2. and Ragnarök, 464 pp, Dorfmeister, Tittling, 2010, (hardcover) ISBN 3-9810084-8-0