Kirchberg am Wechsel

market community

coat of arms

Austria map

Basic data

Country:

Austria

State :

Lower Austria

Political District :

Neunkirchen

License plate :

NK

Surface:

51.36 km²

Coordinates :

47 ° 37 ' N , 16 ° 0' E Coordinates: 47 ° 36 '31 " N , 15 ° 59' 33" E

Height :

581 m above sea level A.

Residents :

2,508 (January 1, 2020)

Postcodes :

2640, 2880, 2881

Area code :

02641

Community code :

3 18 14

NUTS region

AT122

Address of the
municipal administration:

Markt 63
2880 Kirchberg am Wechsel

Website:

www.kirchberg-am-wechsel.at

politics

Mayor :

Willibald Fuchs ( ÖVP )

Municipal Council : ( 2020 )
(21 members)

17th

3

1

17th 3 1

A total of 21 seats

ÖVP : 17
SPÖ : 3
FPÖ : 1

Location of Kirchberg am Wechsel in the Neunkirchen district

Municipal Office

Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

View over Kirchberg am Wechsel

Kirchberg am Wechsel is a market town with 2508 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Neunkirchen district in Lower Austria .

geography

Kirchberg am Wechsel is located in the industrial district in Lower Austria around 100 kilometers south of Vienna in the valley of the Otterbach, which joins the Ostend of Kirchberg with the Molzbach to Feistritz , at the foot of the Wechsel . The area of the market town covers 51.36 square kilometers, about 68 percent of the area is forested.

Community structure

The municipality is divided into five localities (number of inhabitants in brackets as of January 1, 2020):

Alpeltal (42)
Kirchberg am Wechsel (1822)
Kranichberg (148)
Fiefdom (154)
Molzegg (134)
Ofenbach (208)

The market community of Kirchberg am Wechsel comprises six cadastral communities (area as of December 31, 2019):

Alpeltal

282 ha, 38 a, 14 m² (5.5% of the municipal area)

Kirchberg

with the districts of Au, Markt, Molz, Rammergraben, Sachsenbrunn, Sellhof, Stein, Tratten, Weyer and Wieden Wiese

1,170 ha, 70 a, 55 m² (22.8% of the municipal area)

Kranichberg

with the districts of Baumthal, Eselberg, Friedersdorf , Kiengraben, Oberer Kirchgraben, Kreith, Kreithberg, Pucha, Pyhra and Rams

1,002 ha, 79 a, 84 m² (19.8% of the municipal area)

Fiefdom

with the districts of Nebelsbach and Steinbach

714 ha, 30 a, 29 m² (14.0% of the municipal area)

Molzegg

with the districts of Kampsteiner Schwaig, Kreuzbauern, Molz and Steyersberger Schwaig

1,574 ha, 78 a, 46 m² (30.7% of the municipal area)

Ofenbach

with the districts of Eigenberg and Wieden

372 ha, 04 a, 91 m² (7.2% of the municipal area)

The forest share varies in size in the individual cadastral communities:

Molzegg has the most forest with 83% of its land area, followed by Kranichberg, Alpeltal, Lehen and Ofenbach; Kirchberg has the smallest forest area with 49%.

A quarter of the land is used for agriculture (fields, meadows). Here Kirchberg is at the top with 39%, while Molzegg only uses 12% of its area as grassland and fields. The remaining 6% of the land is other areas (traffic routes and the like), construction areas, alpine pastures and gardens.

history

The name Kirchberg is first mentioned in a document from 1232 ( Kyperk ). It is also not known when the place was made a market; in any case, he was designated as such in 1386.

In 1472/73 the place was hit by a plague epidemic. In 1713 and 1714 the plague raged again. The plague column on the main square reminds of this.

According to legend, the founding of the Wolfgang Church in the municipality around 970 goes back to Saint Wolfgang .

The permanent settlement of the change area took place in the 12th century. In 1216 the foundation stone of the later Augustinian women's choir was laid by the Lords of Kranichberg. In 1404 the Wolfgang church was mentioned as a chapel. At the time of the first Turkish siege of Vienna (1529) the place, monastery and church were burned down. After the monastery was rebuilt, the sisters had to flee due to an epidemic in 1554. From the fact that a schoolmaster is mentioned in the report, it can be concluded that there was already a school.

1656 confirmed Emperor Ferdinand III. in a coat of arms the market law. In the following year the monastery was rebuilt and received its present form.

During the second Turkish siege of Vienna , the population of Kirchberg fled to the fortified areas around the church and monastery, but there was no arson.

From 1754 to 1756 the Gothic parish church was demolished and rebuilt in the Baroque style. Except for the spire, which burned down in 1829, the state of construction has remained unchanged to this day. In 1782 the monastery was abolished under Joseph II. In the same year, the consecration of the Wolfgang Church was abolished.

In the course of the coalition wars there were looting in 1805 and again in 1809. In 1814 and 1833 the place suffered from flood disasters .

In 1850 the political communities of Kirchberg am Wechsel, Kranichberg and Molzegg were established; Kranichberg was incorporated into Kirchberg in 1968, Molzegg in 1972.

From 1859 to 1868 the Wolfgang church was rebuilt; Burned out in 1918 after a lightning strike, it was restored again. Since 1999, Dominican women have been using the former women's choir as a spiritual center.

Population development

Religions

According to the data of the 2001 census , 93.9% of the population were Roman Catholic , 1.0% Protestant , 1.5% Muslim , 0.7% belonged to Orthodox churches , and 2.3% of the population had no religious denomination.

Culture and sights

Kranichberg Castle (painting by Alexander Trichtl , 19th century)

Parish church Kirchberg am Wechsel

Wolfgang Church in Kirchberg am Wechsel

Kranichberg Castle
Catholic parish church Kranichberg Hll. Philip and Christophorus
The Catholic parish church Kirchberg am Wechsel hl. Jakobus the Elder forms a building ensemble with the Kirchberg am Wechsel monastery and the Kirchberg am Wechsel rectory

Marian column Kirchberg am Wechsel

Catholic branch church St. wolfgang

Kalvarienberg Kirchberg am Wechsel

the Kernstockwarte, named after Ottokar Kernstock , wooden observation point on the Wolfenkogel

Hermannshöhle , largest stalactite cave in Lower Austria

Natural monument 1000 year old linden tree

Cemetery church

Chapels and wayside crosses

Regular events

International Wittgenstein Symposium : an international symposium devoted to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and his relationship to science. It has been held annually in the summer (in the first half of August) in Kirchberg am Wechsel since 1976. The symposium is organized by the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society .

Economy and Infrastructure

In 2001 there were 104 non-agricultural workplaces, agricultural and forestry operations 138 according to the 1999 survey. According to the 2001 census, the number of people in employment at the place of residence was 1069. In 2001, the employment rate was 47.2 percent.

Summer tourism in particular plays an important role with around 55,000 overnight stays. Kirchberg also has two family-friendly ski lifts.

schools

Primary school Kirchberg am Wechsel (Markt 300)
Middle School Kirchberg am Wechsel (Markt 106)
General special school Kirchberg am Wechsel (Markt 300)
Gymnasium and Realgymnasium Sachsenbrunn of the Archdiocese of Vienna

societies

Clubs have a long tradition in Kirchberg am Wechsel. The following associations are currently active:

Kirchberg am Wechsel volunteer fire department (founded in 1873)
Musikverein Kirchberg am Wechsel (founded in 1876)
Raiffeisenkasse Kirchberg am Wechsel (Reg. Genossenschaft mbH; founded in 1895)
Austrian Comradeship Association, local association Kirchberg am Wechsel (founded in 1904)
Molzegg Forest and Pasture Cooperative (Reg. Gen. mbH; founded in 1929)
Lower Austria Beekeeping Association, Kirchberg am Wechsel group (founded in 1938)
Local group Kirchberg am Wechsel and the surrounding area of the War Opera and Disabled Association for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland (founded in 1946)
Union sports club Raiffeisen Kirchberg am Wechsel (founded in 1947)
Parents' association of elementary, secondary and special schools in Kirchberg (founded in 1953)
Nö pathfinder, group Kirchberg am Wechsel (founded 1971)
Friends of the Wolfgang Church (founded in 1971)
Kirchberg am Wechsel tourist office (founded in 1972)
Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society (founded 1974)
First Kirchberg tennis club (founded 1979)
Chess Club Kirchberg am Wechsel (founded in 1980)
Radclub RC Drahtesel Kirchberg (founded 1983)
Rural youth (founded in 1984)
Union Schützenverein (founded in 1987)
Folk dance group Kirchberg am Wechsel (founded in 1991)
Kirchberg Association for Community Development and Village Renewal (founded in 1992)

politics

The municipal council consists of a total of 21 members. After the municipal council elections, the municipal council had the following distributions:

1990: 14 ÖVP, 5 SPÖ and 1 FPÖ
1995: 15 ÖVP, 3 SPÖ and 3 FPÖ
2000: 13 ÖVP, 4 SPÖ and 4 FPÖ
2005 : 15 ÖVP, 5 SPÖ and 1 FPÖ
2010 : 14 ÖVP, 4 SPÖ and 3 FPÖ
2015 : 15 ÖVP, 4 SPÖ and 2 FPÖ
After the municipal council elections in Lower Austria 2020 , the municipal council has the following distribution:

17 ÖVP, 3 SPÖ and 1 FPÖ

mayor

since ? Willibald Fuchs (ÖVP)

Personalities

A square in Kranichberg is named after the honorary citizen Pastor Thomas Gottschlich.

Honorary citizen of the community

Thomas Gottschlich (1904–1989), pastor in Kranichberg
Lorenz Köck (1930-), entrepreneur

Sons and daughters of the church

Norbert Burger (1929–1992), management consultant and politician
Andreas Donhauser (* 1960), production designer, set designer and costume designer
Johannes Ditz (* 1951), politician and manager, Minister of Economic Affairs
Johann Köteles (* 1930), politician and union secretary
Florian Kuntner (1933–1994), auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Vienna
Kunibert Zinner (1906–1990), sculptor and composer

People related to the community

Ignaz Edler von Mitis (1771–1842), technician and chemist, chemical manufacturer in Kirchberg am Wechsel
Hans Müller (* 1943), manager and politician, member of the Kirchberg am Wechsel municipal council
Johann Preyer (1805–1888), writer and mayor of Timișoara, lived in Kirchberg am Wechsel from 1876 until his death
Edmund Tauchner (* 1956), chimney sweep and politician, member of the Kirchberg am Wechsel municipal council
Friedrich Gustav Piffl (1864–1932), Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vienna, was buried in the Kranichberg cemetery

literature

Kirchberg (top center) around 1873 (recording sheet of the state survey )

Bruno H. Bauer: Kirchberg am Wechsel, Bibliography 1990: with separate bibliographies of the cadastral communities Kranichberg and Molzegg and the neighboring communities St. Corona, Feistritz, Otterthal and Trattenbach. - Kirchberg am Wechsel / Vienna (Kirchberg series of publications; 1)
Market town of Kirchberg am Wechsel [Ed.] (1974): Kirchberg am Wechsel - Aspang, Moschna.
Market town of Kirchberg am Wechsel [Ed.] (1982): 750 years Kirchberg am Wechsel - Aspang, Moschna.
Bruno Bauer, Christian Berner, Reinhart Deschka, Ernst Feuchtenhofer, Willibald Fuchs, Reinhard Gansterer, Johann Mitter, Wolfgang Rank: Kirchberg am Wechsel: Past and Present of a Market Town . Ed .: Market community Kirchberg am Wechsel. 2001.