Groß-Enzersdorf
Encyclopedia
Groß-Enzersdorf is a town and municipality in the district of Gänserndorf
in the Austria
n state of Lower Austria
, directly to the east of Vienna and north of the river Danube
. Apart from the town itself, it also comprises 7 subordinated municipalities.
by Henry II
in 1021, only to be transferred to the Diocese of Freising
in 1028. While the general area was also under the influence of the Diocese of Passau, a document of 1202 formally associates the church in Groß-Enzersdorf to the Diocese of Freising. By 1298, all of Sahsonaganc belonged to the Diocese of Freising and the administrative center was located in what was then called Entzeinestorf.
In 1396, the settlement received formal town privileges
, and the construction of the massive city wall
started, which was finished in 1399 and today still stands almost intact. Despite these fortifications, the town was conquered several times and suffered serious damages in the subsequent centuries. In 1483, Matthias Corvinus
sacked and damaged the town, and in 1529 the town was conquered and heavily damaged by troops of the Ottoman Empire
during the Siege of Vienna
. In the aftermath, many Croats
rebuilt destroyed houses and eventually settled in the town. In 1554, a fire destroyed all but a few houses in the town. During the Thirty Years' War
in the first half of the seventeenth century the town was occupied and again set on fire by troops of the Swedish Empire
. This was followed by an outbreak of the Plague in 1679 and another occupation and partial destruction by the Ottoman Empire during the Second Siege of Vienna before the Battle of Vienna
in 1683.
In 1693, Georg Rafael Donner, a baroque sculptor who was born in the neighboring village Eßling
, was baptized in Groß-Enzersdorf, marking the beginning of a relatively calm period, interrupted only by another major fire in 1730. In 1803, the belongings of the Diocese of Freising were secularized and thus Groß-Enzersdorf was formally transferred to the House of Habsburg. The town became involved in acts of war again in 1809, during the Battle of Aspern-Essling
and the Battle of Wagram
, suffering major damages. The last major fire occurred in 1829, and in 1850 Groß-Enzersdorf became a district capital, which was moved to Floridsdorf
in 1893. In the second half of the 19th century a Jewish community was founded and eventually also a synagogue
was built. From 1886 on the town was the terminus of a steam tramway
connecting the town to the Viennese tram network, which was later electrified and ended service in 1970.
The Anschluss
of Austria to Nazi Germany
in 1938 also brought a major change on the local level for Groß-Enzersdorf: It was absorbed into the new Greater-Vienna and gave its name to the new 22nd district Groß-Enzersdorf, which comprised many of the rural Marchfeld villages, but also some more urban zones on the left of the Danube that were already previously part of Vienna, such as Kaisermühlen. The synagogue was heavily damaged in the infamous Kristallnacht
in November 1938, and most of the Jewish population was deported during this event. The synagogue building was used as a magazine during World War II
and was demolished in 1963. During the World War, the town suffered aerial bombings during the Oil Campaign of World War II
in 1944, because of its vicinity to an oil refinery in the Lobau
. Groß-Enzersdorf was conquered by Soviet Armed Forces
on April 12, 1945. In Allied-occupied Austria the town was located in the Soviet zone, and administratively remained in the 22nd district of Vienna until 1954, when it was re-established as a municipality within the state of Lower Austria.
The more recent history of Groß-Enzersdorf marks a shift from a service town characterized by its agricultural surroundings towards a suburban center, with many inhabitants commuting to Vienna.
.
The city consitsts of the following administrative communes:
The district council houses 33 seats. Apportionment according to the district council elections form the 14th of March 2010: 16 seats SPÖ (Social Democratic Party of Austria
) which chairman Hubert Tomsic, 12 seats ÖVP(Austrian People's Party
) with chairman Peter Cepuder, 3 seats Wir Bürger-Die Grünen Groß-Enzersdorf (The Greens – The Green Alternative) which chairman Andreas Vanek and 2 seats FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria
) which Rudolf Fischer.
is situated in Groß-Enzersdorf, directly to the border of Vienna. It was opened 1967. In 1990 extended to a "center" including three screens. On Sundays is held a market, a so-called Flohmarkt
.
In the year 1889 was a Jewish cemetery built, but at last vandalised.
junior programs. There is also a soccer team (SC Groß-Enzersdorf).
Gänserndorf (district)
Bezirk Gänserndorf is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria.-Municipalities:Towns are indicated in boldface; market towns in italics; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.*Aderklaa*Andlersdorf*Angern an der March**Angern an der...
in the 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...
n state of Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
, directly to the east of Vienna and north of the river Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. Apart from the town itself, it also comprises 7 subordinated municipalities.
History
While the area of the municipality was probably inhabited in pre-Roman times, the first written mention of the settlement by the name of Encinesdorf dates to 1160. At its current location, an estate was founded in about 870. The terrain comprising this estate (the island Sahsonaganc, which roughly coincides with today's municipality) was donated to the Weihenstephan AbbeyWeihenstephan Abbey
Weihenstephan Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Weihenstephan, now part of Freising district, in Bavaria, Germany.-Monastery:...
by Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
in 1021, only to be transferred to the Diocese of Freising
Freising
Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500.The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport...
in 1028. While the general area was also under the influence of the Diocese of Passau, a document of 1202 formally associates the church in Groß-Enzersdorf to the Diocese of Freising. By 1298, all of Sahsonaganc belonged to the Diocese of Freising and the administrative center was located in what was then called Entzeinestorf.
In 1396, the settlement received formal town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
, and the construction of the massive city wall
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...
started, which was finished in 1399 and today still stands almost intact. Despite these fortifications, the town was conquered several times and suffered serious damages in the subsequent centuries. In 1483, Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
sacked and damaged the town, and in 1529 the town was conquered and heavily damaged by troops of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
during the Siege of Vienna
Siege of Vienna
The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire's power, the maximum extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe, and was the result of a...
. In the aftermath, many Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
rebuilt destroyed houses and eventually settled in the town. In 1554, a fire destroyed all but a few houses in the town. During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
in the first half of the seventeenth century the town was occupied and again set on fire by troops of the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
. This was followed by an outbreak of the Plague in 1679 and another occupation and partial destruction by the Ottoman Empire during the Second Siege of Vienna before the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
in 1683.
In 1693, Georg Rafael Donner, a baroque sculptor who was born in the neighboring village Eßling
Essling
Essling is part of Donaustadt, the 22nd district of Vienna.The area is known because of the Battle of Aspern-Essling, which was fought nearby on May 21 and May 22, 1809....
, was baptized in Groß-Enzersdorf, marking the beginning of a relatively calm period, interrupted only by another major fire in 1730. In 1803, the belongings of the Diocese of Freising were secularized and thus Groß-Enzersdorf was formally transferred to the House of Habsburg. The town became involved in acts of war again in 1809, during the Battle of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
and the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
, suffering major damages. The last major fire occurred in 1829, and in 1850 Groß-Enzersdorf became a district capital, which was moved to Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf is the 21st district of Vienna, Austria .Floridsdorf is located in the northern part of Vienna.The District Office and the centre of Floridsdorf are located round Am Spitz, at the junction of Prager Straße and Brünner Straße .Since 2004, Floridsdorf has had its own tower: the...
in 1893. In the second half of the 19th century a Jewish community was founded and eventually also a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was built. From 1886 on the town was the terminus of a steam tramway
Tram engine
A tram engine is a locomotive specially built, or modified, to work on a street, or roadside, tramway.-Steam tram engines:In the steam locomotive era, tram engines had to comply with certain legal requirements, although these varied from country to country:* The engine must be governed to a maximum...
connecting the town to the Viennese tram network, which was later electrified and ended service in 1970.
The Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
of Austria to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1938 also brought a major change on the local level for Groß-Enzersdorf: It was absorbed into the new Greater-Vienna and gave its name to the new 22nd district Groß-Enzersdorf, which comprised many of the rural Marchfeld villages, but also some more urban zones on the left of the Danube that were already previously part of Vienna, such as Kaisermühlen. The synagogue was heavily damaged in the infamous Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
in November 1938, and most of the Jewish population was deported during this event. The synagogue building was used as a magazine during 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...
and was demolished in 1963. During the World War, the town suffered aerial bombings during the Oil Campaign of World War II
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
in 1944, because of its vicinity to an oil refinery in the Lobau
Lobau
The Lobau is a Vienna floodplain on the northern side of the Danube and partly in Großenzersdorf, Lower Austria. It has been part of the Danube-Auen National Park since 1996 and has been a protected area since 1978. It is used as a recreational area and is known as a site of nudism. There is...
. Groß-Enzersdorf was conquered by Soviet Armed Forces
Soviet Armed Forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
on April 12, 1945. In Allied-occupied Austria the town was located in the Soviet zone, and administratively remained in the 22nd district of Vienna until 1954, when it was re-established as a municipality within the state of Lower Austria.
The more recent history of Groß-Enzersdorf marks a shift from a service town characterized by its agricultural surroundings towards a suburban center, with many inhabitants commuting to Vienna.
Geography
The city is 18 km east from the city center of Vienna. It lies on the main road 3. It located near the Viennese quarter of Eßling and in the south the nature reserve Lobau which is a part of the national park Danube-AuenDanube-Auen National Park
The Danube-Auen National Park covers 93 square kilometres in Vienna and Lower Austria and is one of the largest remaining floodplains of the Danube in Middle Europe....
.
The city consitsts of the following administrative communes:
- Franzensdorf
- Groß-Enzersdorf
- Mühlleiten
- Oberhausen (including Neu-Oberhausen)
- Probstdorf
- Rutzendorf
- Schönau an der Donau
- Wittau
Politics
The current mayor is Hubert Tomsic (since 2009).The district council houses 33 seats. Apportionment according to the district council elections form the 14th of March 2010: 16 seats SPÖ (Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
) which chairman Hubert Tomsic, 12 seats ÖVP(Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
) with chairman Peter Cepuder, 3 seats Wir Bürger-Die Grünen Groß-Enzersdorf (The Greens – The Green Alternative) which chairman Andreas Vanek and 2 seats FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
) which Rudolf Fischer.
Culture and POIs
Austrians single Drive-in theaterDrive-in theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.The screen can be as simple as a...
is situated in Groß-Enzersdorf, directly to the border of Vienna. It was opened 1967. In 1990 extended to a "center" including three screens. On Sundays is held a market, a so-called Flohmarkt
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
.
In the year 1889 was a Jewish cemetery built, but at last vandalised.
Buildings
- Groß-Enzersdorf is very famous for its defensive wallDefensive wallA 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...
. It was built form 1396 to 1399 and is nearly completely obtained. - Parish church, with is built in romanesqueRomanesque artRomanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
, gothicGothic artGothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and baroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
styles. - The city-hall is well obtained, and parts of the former civil hospital.
Sports
Serious sports is done in table-tennis. The team of the UKJ Groß-Enzersdorf plays in the 2nd leagues (2. Bundesliga) and also important for its role injunior programs. There is also a soccer team (SC Groß-Enzersdorf).