Aschach An Der Donau
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Aschach an der Donau is a municipality in the district Eferding in the
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n state of
Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...
.


Geography

Aschach lies in the Danube Valley, on the edge of the Eferding Basin in the
Hausruckviertel The Hausruckviertel is one of the four traditional "quarters" () of the Austrian province of Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and th ...
. About 2 percent of the area is forested. Subdivisions are: Aschach an der Donau (center), Ruprechting, and Sommerberg.


Coat of arms

''Silver and red, covered by two natural colored, twisted grapevines with a blue grape to the left, a green grape to the right and a green leaf in each half.'' The colors of the banner are red, white and green. The motif indicates due to climatic advantages in the early
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
operated winery, which was mentioned in the ''Stiftbrief'' for Kremsmünster in the year 777 and was maintained in the area around Aschach in some vineyards until after 1870. White-red are the colors of the banner of arms of the Counts of Schauberg, who until 1559 held government and a major toll in Aschach.


History

First mentioned in the year 777 at the founding of the monastery Kremsmünster, Aschach was originally part of the eastern part of the
Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria () was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarians, Bavarian tribes and ruled by List of rulers of Bavaria, dukes (''duces'') ...
and belonged to the
Duchy of Austria The Duchy of Austria (; ) was a medieval principality of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1156 by the '' Privilegium Minus'', when the Margraviate of Austria ('' Ostarrîchi'') was detached from Bavaria and elevated to a duchy in its own ri ...
up to the 12th Century. 1490 Aschach was attributed to the Principality of '' Österreich ob der Enns'', and received the market rights and Coat of arms in 1512 by Emperor Maximilian. During the
Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
the town was occupied several times. Since 1918, the town belongs to the state of Upper Austria. After the annexation of Austria to the
German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...
March 13, 1938 the town belonged to ''Gau Oberdonau''. After 1945 followed the restoration of Upper Austria.


Celts and Romans in Aschach

The Celtic name ''Joviacum'' appeared first on the ''Itinerarium Antoninianum'' at the time when the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, nicknamed
Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 â€“ 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...
, reigned from 211-217. 1838 during excavations in Schlögen extensive wall remains of a
Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...
were found. Therefore, by the middle of this century it was assumed that Schlögen was ''Joviacum'' as referred to in the Directory of Roman legions. After excavations in the years 1957-1959 by Dr. Lothar Eckhart proved: Schlögen cannot be ''Joviacum''. Eckhart associates the ''Militum Liburnariorum'', a sort of Marines of the Italian Legion, with Aschach, the mounted military units ''Ad Mauros'' with Eferding. Other than strategic reasons speak for that Aschach is ''Joviacum'' the St. Laurentius-patronage of the chapel at the cemetery, the evidence of a Roman square floor plan and the finding of street pavement stones and cart ruts ( Limes road?) In the ''Abelstraße''. Since Aschach is Joviacum, this brings us into the closest connection with the most amazing sources of departing Antiquity with the "Life of St. Serverin" of the abbot Eugippius. St. Severin appeared in
Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...
, a time when the Roman rule came to an end. As a monk and miracle worker, he resisted the Germanic princes, who were sitting with their tribes on both sides of the Danube. In the deserted Roman settlements, he persuaded the defenseless poor Roman people to a Christian lifestyle. When the circumstances had become untenable, he predicted them the imminent defeat of their place and ordered the evacuation of the area. So also for Aschach (Joviacum). We read in the ''Vita Sancti Severini Eugippii'': "... the servant of God sent the church singer ''Moderatus'' to the inhabitants of a city called ''Joviacum'' which was more than 20 miles away from Batavis, who should ask there an immediate escape from the vulnerable city. Also here the well-meant advice was not heard so that the saint sent off a courier again, who should at least prompt the church leader ''Maximianus'' of ''Joviacum'' to leave the village. When also this messenger was not believed, he left the city quickly. Still in the same night the
Heruli The Heruli (also Eluri, Eruli, Herules, Herulians) were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity, known from records in the third to sixth centuries AD. The best recorded group of Heruli established a kingdom north of the Middle Danu ...
invaded ''Joviacum'', destroyed the settlement and led most of the inhabitants into slavery. The priest they hung on the
gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...
." The details of the Vita is deemed reliable, earlier doubts are resolved by more recent research. Thus, under stipulation of the assumption of the accuracy that Aschach is ''Joviacum'' it is testified that the Late Antiquity martyr is ''MAXIMIANUS'' of Aschach.This text is based on an article by Werner Promintzer in the program guide "1200 years Aschach 777-1977".


Population


Politics


Municipal Council

The following parties are represented in the council: *
SPÖ The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...
(5 seats) *
ÖVP The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...
(11 seats) *
FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...
(6 seats) *
The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...
(3 seats)


Mayor

Incumbent Mayor is Friedrich Knierzinger (
ÖVP The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...
). * Mayors since 1849


Sister City

* The Official Sister City is Obernzell in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...


Landmarks

*Aschach has a historic center with town houses dating from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, with beautiful facades and courtyards from the Gothic,
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
. *Parish Church 'Danube Cross': around 1490 follows the Late-Gothic succeeding building of an originally in 1371 first mentioned church on records. The high altar is crowned by the healing powers of the revered ''Danube cross''. It was brought ashore in 1693 by two sailors in a flood. The sickly restorer of the cross was healed during his work. 1784, Aschach was separated by a government decree of
Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...
from the mother-churc
''Hartkirchen''
and elevated to an independent parish. 1976, the church was renovated and expanded, designed by
Clemens Holzmeister Clemens Holzmeister (27 March 1886 – 12 June 1983) was a prominent Austrian architect and stage designer of the early twentieth century. The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austrian Academy of Fine Arts listed his life's work as containing 673 pro ...
. *Old Town Hall *Schloss Aschach': The
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
is the former seat of the Counts of Harrach. The main wing of the manor house from the 16th Century has arcades in the courtyard on all three floors. The east wing was built in 1709 by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, as well as the altar in the chapel. The castle is privately owned. *Kraftwerk Aschach: The hydro power plant was built 1959-1964 and was once Europe's largest hydro power plant. * Schopper and Fishery museum. The museum presents the history of the ''Market Aschach'' in connection with the shipbuilding - and
shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
tradition on the Upper Danube. The ''Schopper'' museum presents the historic craft of shipbuilding and also the social and cultural environment of these craftsmen's guilds. In addition, the last original ''Zehner Trauner'' is displayed. The Fisheries Museum shows the development of commercial and recreational fishery in Upper Austria with special reference to the upper Danube.


Transport

In addition to the Danube, the main traffic route for thousands of years, in 1886 Aschach was connected by the ''Aschacher Bahn'' (Aschach - Eferding - Wels) to the modern transportation system. During the power plant construction the railway was extended through Aschach to the power plant (then dismantled). In 1962 the ferry ("Flying Bridge") was replaced by the bridge farther down the river and thus the region Mühlviertel and the central region connected to one another. Bus lines operate scheduled bus service between neighboring cities among which are Wels, Linz, and Passau in Bavaria.


Education

*Kindergarten *Elementary School *Middle School


References


Bibliography

* Ernst Neweklowsky: ''Aschach und die Donauschiffahrt''. In: ''Oberösterreichische Heimatblätter 13 (195993)'', S. 207-242.
Digitalisat
{{authority control Cities and towns in Eferding District