Pocking (; bar, label=

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 Bavari ...

, Bocking) is a town in the district of Passau, in

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n border.

History

A Roman settlement was founded in the area of Pocking as early as the 1st century AD. The '' Bajuwaren tribe'' settled around Pocking in the 6th century AD. In 820 AD Pocking was first mentioned in a historic document. Since 1824 Pocking forms its own political community and in 1971 it was granted the privileges of a town. During the Nazi regime a side camp of the

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of ...

was set up in Pocking. After

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the second largest DP camp ("displaced persons") in Germany was located in Pocking. In 1946 the camp housed 7,645 people, mostly of Jewish heritage. It was disbanded in 1949. The Rottal area to which Pocking belongs is famous for its

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics i ...

. That is also why the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of Pocking includes the head of a horse. The other symbols relate to the history of the town and the different villages that formed the political community of Pocking.

Mayors

Since the election in 2008 Franz Krah (Independent citizens) is the mayor of Pocking. His predecessor was Josef Jakob (CSU). Krah was reelected in March 2014 with 82.01% of the votes.

Solarpark

In April 2006, Pocking Solar Park, the at this time world's largest connected solar power plant, was opened in Pocking. The plant produces 10 megawatt peak, has 62,500 photovoltaic cells and cost approximately 40 million

euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Education

Schools include: * Wilhelm-Diess-Gymnasium

Sons and daughters of the town

* Michael Ammermüller (born 1986), race car driver

References

External links

* {{Authority control Passau (district)