Waldkirchen is the biggest town in the district of

Freyung-Grafenau Freyung-Grafenau () is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Passau (district), Passau, Deggendorf (district), Deggendorf and Regen (district), Regen, ...

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 ...

History

Mentioned for the first time in 1203, it soon became an important trading place along the "Goldener Steig" (Golden Path), a salt-trading route between Bavaria and Bohemia in the late

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 ...

. In the 13th century the

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

). After several raids by

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n soldiers during the 15th century the city built a "Ringmauer", a big stonewall, to surround it, which is still to be seen in many places of the city. Belonging to the Bishop of Passau's territory for more than 600 years, the city became part of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

in 1806 and in 1871 of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. Waldkirchen burned down six times between 1492 and 1945. The last fire was on April 26, 1945, when the 16th Company of Regiment Grossdeutschland, SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Das Reich" arrived from St. Pölten, Austria. Each squad of ten men was armed with one light machine gun, one machine pistol, two Panzerfaust and rifles. Eight civilians were killed in combat with the 11th Armored Division, and 48 houses and city's historical church were destroyed. In the course of the action 120 families also lost shelter. The devastated city was rebuilt during the 1950s and was chartered in 1972. Waldkirchen was host of the 2007

Landesgartenschau A ''Regional Garden Show'' (; ) is an exhibition on horticulture that takes place on a regular basis in several German and Austrian states. In Germany, a state horticultural show at the state level is the smaller counterpart to the Bundesgartenscha ...

Inhabitants

* 1979: 8,835 * 1982: 8,882 * 1992: 10,067 * 2005: 10,673 City centre: 3,613 Villages: 7,060

Religion

*Roman Catholics: 89% *Protestant: 6% *others: 5%

Attractions and Tourism

Attractions in the town include the City Wall, St. Peter's and St. Paul's Churches, the Schratzlgaenge (hidden labyrinth under the town) and the marketplace.

Tourism

Waldkirchen's main "industry" is tourism. Embedded in the

Bavarian Forest image:Zell-bayerischer-wald.jpg, The village of Zell in the Bavarian Forest The Bavarian Forest ( or ''Bayerwald'' ; ) is a wooded, low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany, that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along the Czech Republic, C ...

, Waldkirchen is close to Prague, Munich and Vienna.

Famous people

* Emerenz Meier, Bavarian writer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Freyung-Grafenau