Amstetten (;

Central Bavarian Central Bavarian form a subgroup of Bavarian dialects in large parts of Austria and the German state of Bavaria along the Danube river, on the northern side of the Eastern Alps. They are spoken in the ' Old Bavarian' regions of Upper Bavaria ( ...

: ''Aumstedn'' or ''Aumstettn'') is a town in

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 ...

. It is the capital of the Amstetten District and the centre of the historical region Mostviertel (“Most” – cider, “viertel” – a quarter of the province

Geography

Amstetten is situated between

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

(60 km; 40 miles) and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(120 km; 75 miles) on the highway and just over an hour from Vienna by highspeed-train, and lies on the river Ybbs and as well near the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

river.

History

There are traces of human settlements from the Stone Age and the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

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 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 ...

by railroad. Since 1868, it has also been the seat of the local district administration. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, there were two subcamps of the

Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germa ...

in Amstetten. The town was home to

Josef Hickersberger Josef Hickersberger (born 27 April 1948) is a former professional football player and former coach of the Austria national football team and Austrian club side Rapid Wien. Club career Hickersberger was born in Amstetten, Austria. He started hi ...

Population

Local economy

The Doka Group, a major international producer/supplier of

formwork Formwork is molds into which concrete or similar materials are either precast or cast-in-place. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering molds. In specialty applications formwork may be permanently i ...

, 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. 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. 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'.

Sights

Amstetten has several churches. There is a small forest 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. The pool has a sauna and a slide. 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. There are also two metal bars including the 'Pandora Bar'.

Transport

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

Twin towns – sister cities

Amstetten is twinned with: *

Alsfeld Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is in the center of Hesse and part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. It is well known for its well-preserved old ...

, Germany (1979) *

Ruelle-sur-Touvre Ruelle-sur-Touvre is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population International relations The commune has been twinned with Amstetten, Lower Austria since 1972 and Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in Coun ...

, France (1992) *

Pergine Valsugana Pergine Valsugana (''Pèrzen'' in local dialect, german: Fersen im Suganertal) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. Pergine Valsugana borders th ...

, Italy (1999)

Notable people from this town

* Theodor von Frimmel (1853-1928), art historian, musicologist and Beethoven researcher * Friedl Czepa (1898-1973), actress * Helene A. von Damm (born 1938), American diplomat * Josef Fritzl (born 1935), criminal, see Fritzl case *

Jochem Schindler Jochem "Joki" Schindler (8 November 1944 in Amstetten, Lower Austria – 24 December 1994 in Prague) was an Austrian Indo-Europeanist. In spite of his comparatively thin bibliography, he made important contributions, in particular to the theory of ...

(1944-1994), Indo-Europeanist *

(born 1948), football player and coach *

Erwin Wagenhofer Erwin Wagenhofer (born 27 May 1961, in Amstetten) is an Austrian author and film director. In 1981 he presented his first short film ''Endstation normal''. Two years later his short film ''Das Loch'' was shown at the Kraków Film Festival. Fro ...

(born 1961), author and filmmaker * Paulus Hochgatterer (born 1961), writer * Hermann Fehringer (born 1962), pole vaulter * Michael Garschall (born 1967, theatre director * Georg Breinschmid (born 1973), bassist, composer and jazz musician *

Gernot Wagner Gernot Wagner (1980 in Austria) is a climate economist at Columbia Business School. He holds an AB and a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University, as well as an MA in economics from Stanford University. A founding co-direct ...

(born 1980), economist and author * Michael Klukowski (born 1981), football player *

Daniel Kogler Daniel Kogler (born 16 August 1988) is an Austrian footballer, who played as a midfielder. Career Club career He had previously played for Austrian SKN St. Pölten and SV Bad Aussee, Bosnian FK Velež Mostar, Hungarian BFC Siófok Bodajk ...

(born 1988), football player

References

Notes

External links

{{Authority control Amstetten District Cities and towns in Amstetten District Holocaust locations in Austria