Freistadt (, ) is a small

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 town in the 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 ...

in the region

Mühlviertel The Mühlviertel () is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria: it is one of four "quarters" of Upper Austria, the others being Hausruckviertel, Traunviertel, and Innviertel. It is named after the three rivers ', ', and '. ...

. With a population of approximately 7,500 residents, it is a trade centre for local villages. Freistadt is the economic centre of a district of the same name District Freistadt. The nearest sizeable cities are

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, the capital of

, about 40 km in the south, and

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

, the capital of Southern Bohemia, about 60 km in the north.

History

The area surrounding Freistadt came under the dominion of the Bavarian Duchy in the seventh century. Freistadt was founded before 1220. The Babenberg Duke Leopold VI passed through the area in 1225. The earliest mention of ''Frienstat ''is in a document from 1241, but in 1277, Rudolf von Habsburg referred to ''Vreinstat'' in another document. Its position separated the Habsburg and Bohemian lands, and it stood at crossroads of the valuable salt and iron trade route, which had operated from prehistoric times through the Middle Ages. The outer and inner walls, towers and gates of the old city, built mainly between 1363 and 1393, still exist today. Freistadt suffered French incursions in 1805 and 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars. Since 1918, Freistadt has been part of Bundesland Upper Austria. Following the Anschluss with Germany on 13 March 1938, the locality was part of Gau Oberdonau but in 1945 was restored to Bundesland Upper Austria.

Notgeld

Like many municipalities of Upper Austria, Freistadt issued Notgeld for collectors in 1920.

Population

Tourism

The main entrance to the Old Town is through the Linzer Tor (Linz Gate). The spacious Hauptplatz (main square) is surrounded by painted fronts of renovated burghers' houses. On the highest point of Freistadt stands the parish church of St Catherine (14th-15th century, remodelled in Baroque style in 1690 and rebuilt in Gothic style in 1967); note in particular the interlaced ribbed vaulting in the roof of the choir. At the northeastern corner of the square a gateway leads to the 14th century

Schloss Freistadt Freistadt Castle () in Upper Austrian Mühlviertel was built, together with its bergfried, between 1363 and 1398, and was used to reinforce the fortifications of the town of Freistadt. Today the castle houses the tax office and the Mühlviertel Cas ...

, with a 50m/165 ft high keep which now houses the Mühlviertler Schlossmuseum, a local

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

with a large collection of verre églomisé (glass decorated with a layer of engraved gold). Outside the Böhmertor (Bohemian Gate) stands the little 15th century Liebfrauenkirche with beautiful "pillars of light" of 1484. File:Böhmertor von innen.JPG, Bohemian Gate (Böhmertor) from the inner side File:Bergfried beim Schloss.JPG, Bergfried of the Castle File:Dechanthof (Pfarrhof).JPG, Dechanthof Tower (and Dechantyard) File:Kirchturm Stadtpfarrkirche FR.JPG, Parish Church of St Catherine File:Liebfrauenkirche FR Totenleuchte.JPG, Pillars of Light from 1484 File:Museum - Hinterglasbilder2.JPG, Verre églomisé from the Museum File:Freistadt, Waaggasse 13.jpg, Burghers' House near the main square

References

External links

Official Webpage of Freistadt (German only)

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Freistadt District