Kirchberg above the Danube

Kirchberg above the Danube
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Upper Austria
Political District :	Rohrbach
License plate :	RO
Surface:	21.27 km²
Coordinates :	48 ° 27 '  N , 13 ° 56'  E Coordinates: 48 ° 26 '42 "  N , 13 ° 56' 10"  E
Height :	591  m above sea level A.
Residents :	1,045 (January 1, 2020)
Population density :	49 inhabitants per km²
Postal code :	4131
Area code :	07282
Community code :	4 13 14
Address of the municipal administration:	Kirchberg odD 5 4131 Kirchberg ob der Donau
Website:	www.kirchberg-donau.at
politics
Mayor :	Franz Hofer ( ÖVP )
Municipal Council : (2015) (13 members)	9 3 1 9 3 1  A total of 13 seats ÖVP : 9 SPÖ : 3 FPÖ : 1
Location of Kirchberg ob der Donau in the Rohrbach district
Kirchberg above the Danube
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Nepomuk statue

Kirchberg ob der Donau is a municipality in Upper Austria in the Rohrbach district in the upper Mühlviertel with 1045 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020).

The community is located in the judicial district of Rohrbach .

geography

Kirchberg ob der Donau lies at an altitude of 591  m above sea level. A. in the south of the Rohrbach district in the upper Mühlviertel . In terms of the nature conservation spatial structure, the majority of the municipal area belongs to the Central Mühlviertler Hochland spatial unit , while the western, southern and eastern peripheral areas are part of the Danube gorge and side valleys . The extension is 6.7 km from north to south, around 5.2 km from west to east, the total area is 21.27 km². Kirchberg ob der Donau is thus in the upper middle range of the municipalities in the district. With 50 inhabitants per km² in 2013 the municipality was again in the lower third of the municipalities in the district. The municipality extends over an altitude of between 280  m above sea level. A. on the Danube and 610  m above sea level. A. at the village of Kirchberg. In 2001, 40.7 percent of the municipal area was forested, 46.7 percent of the area was used for agriculture. In comparison with the federal state of Upper Austria, Kirchberg ob der Donau is forested on average (Upper Austria: 38.3 percent) or covered by agricultural land (Upper Austria: 49.3 percent). The share of other uses (construction areas, gardens, bodies of water and others), at 12.6 percent, is also within the Upper Austrian average of 13.8 percent, with bodies of water accounting for around 7 percent of the municipal area. Neighboring communities are Altenfelden in the north, Kleinzell in the Mühlkreis in the northeast and St. Martin in the Mühlkreis in the east. In the south-west and south-east, Kirchberg ob der Donau borders the Eferding district along the Danube , with Aschach an der Donau in the south-east, Hartkirchen in the south and Haibach ob der Donau in the south-west representing the neighboring communities.

Geology and soils

The landscape of the municipality is a part of the Bohemian Massif, which goes back to a very old mountain range, which was created by the Variscan mountain formation in the Paleozoic ( Carboniferous ). After the strong erosion of the former high mountains, during the Alpidic mountain formation in the Tertiary, the crystalline basement was abolished by several 100 meters, causing fractures and faults. Subsequently, sediments were deposited in the Tertiary and Quaternary periods . The predominant rocks in the municipality are migmatite gneiss , pearl gneiss and coarse-grained gneiss. The landscape itself has flat low mountain ranges and steep slopes towards the Danube valley. In the municipality, soils of the brown earth podsol series of crystalline predominate. There is brown earth in deep layers such as the Danube valley and on more nutrient-rich granite and gneiss.

Landscape and vegetation

The landscape of Kirchberg can be divided into three parts. In the north-west there is a slightly relief, well-structured high plateau with the main settlement area and the main town of Kirchberg. There are small to large-scale forest areas, with large-scale forest areas mostly being spruce forests and small-scale forests often being planted with deciduous or mixed deciduous coniferous forests. Agriculture is largely intensive, with a high proportion of grassland and only a few extensive meadows. With the two largest villages Kirchdorf and Seibersdorf, the sub-area represents the main settlement area, as structural elements there are numerous fruit tree meadows, occasionally distinctive, isolated fruit trees, occasionally and occasionally groups of trees or small forest areas. The south and north-east of the municipality is also a slightly relief high plateau, but only moderately structured and used intensively for agriculture. In addition to the largely intensively used green and arable land with a high proportion of grassland, there are rarely extensive meadows. However, there are some large mesophilic fat meadows in the area of ​​Witzersdorf. There is only a small area of ​​forest. The structural elements here are often fruit tree meadows, a few striking, isolated fruit trees and, rarely, hedges or groups of trees. The western, southern and eastern borders as well as part of the southern municipal area are allotted to the densely forested Danube Gorge and its side valleys. The large forests often represent natural hillside forests, with pure deciduous forests and mixed deciduous and coniferous forests mostly on the lower slope areas. In addition, there are also spruce forests, especially in the upper areas of the slopes. The area is designated as a Natura 2000 area and a bird sanctuary.

Community structure

The municipality includes the following localities (population in brackets as of January 1, 2020):

• Village (41)
• Ebersdorf (51)
• Exlau (12)
• Pit (40)
• Gumpesberg (32)
• Haiden (32)
• Kirchberg ob der Donau (354)
• Mayrhof (64)
• Obermühl on the Danube (87)
• Partenstein (5)
• Point (29)
• Seibersdorf (119)
• Stieberberg (41)
• Windhag (13)
• Winzberg (33)
• Witzersdorf (37)
• Wolfling (33)
• Wolkersdorf (22)

history

Originally located in the eastern part of the Duchy of Bavaria , the place belonged to the Duchy of Austria since the 12th century . Since 1490 it has been assigned to the Principality of Austria ob der Enns .

During the Napoleonic Wars , the place was occupied several times.

Since 1918 the place belongs to the federal state of Upper Austria . After the so-called annexation of Austria to the German Reich on March 13, 1938, Kirchberg belonged to the Gau Oberdonau . After 1945 the restoration of Upper Austria took place.

population

In 2013, 1,058 people lived in the municipality of Kirchberg, which means that Kirchberg was in the lower third of the municipality in the district. At the end of 2001, 96.6 percent of the population were Austrian citizens (Upper Austria 92.8 percent, Rohrbach district 96.9 percent), by the beginning of 2013 the value had risen to 98.2 percent (Upper Austria 91.1 percent, Rohrbach district 96, 9 percent) hardly changed. A total of only 19 foreigners were counted in the municipality in 2013, almost all of them from EU countries. In 2013, a total of 29 had a foreign country of birth. In 2001, 95.9 percent of the population (Upper Austria: 79.4 percent) professed to be part of the Roman Catholic Church , 0.5 percent were Protestant, 1.4 percent Islamic and 1.5 percent without a denomination.

The average age of the community population in 2001 was below the national average. 20.1 percent of the residents of Kirchberg were younger than 15 years (Upper Austria: 18.8 percent), 60.3 percent between 15 and 59 years old (Upper Austria: 61.6 percent). The proportion of residents over 59 years of age was 19.6 percent, below the national average of 20.2 percent. As a result, the average age of the population of Kirchberg changed significantly in all segments. The proportion of people under the age of 15 fell to 16.6 percent on January 1, 2013, while the proportion of people between the ages of 15 and 59 increased significantly to 68.5 percent. The proportion of people over 59 years of age, however, fell to 14.8 percent. According to their marital status, in 2001 52.7 percent of Hörbich's residents were single, 39.0 percent married, 6.2 percent widowed and 2.0 percent divorced.

Population development

The municipality of Kirchberg ob der Donau has recorded a population decline of 10 percent since the late 19th century, with the population development being slightly below the district average and far below that of the state of Upper Austria. The number of inhabitants of the municipality moved in a relatively narrow range between around 1,050 and 1,300 inhabitants. Initially, the number of inhabitants rose slightly between 1869 and 1890, with the previous highest level recorded in 1890 with 1,290 inhabitants, then the number of inhabitants fluctuated slightly downwards or upwards, with the lowest level recorded in 1961 at 1,047. A positive birth balance and a negative migration balance have shaped the population development in recent decades, with the birth surplus and emigration being balanced between 1971 and 2001. However, a low birth surplus and increasing emigration have caused a population decline since the turn of the millennium.

politics

The municipal council, as the highest body of the municipality, has 19 seats and is elected every six years in the course of Upper Austria-wide municipal council elections. The municipal board consists of five members, with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) being represented on the municipal board with the mayor, the vice-mayor and two other members after the municipal council elections in 2009, while the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) sends one member to the municipal board.

The strongest parliamentary group in the Kirchberg ob der Donau municipal council has always been the ÖVP, which since 1945 has always achieved an absolute majority of votes and mandates. In 1994 the ÖVP achieved its best result to date with 68.6 percent, and its worst result in 1967 with 58.0 percent. The second strongest party in the Kirchberg municipal council has always been the SPÖ since 1945. Since 1945 it had results between 22.2 and 42.0 percent. The SPÖ achieved its best result so far in 1967, its worst in 2009. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), after failing since 1979, made it to the municipal council for the first time in 1991. The FPÖ came to 4.4 to 12.1 percent between 1991 and 2009, whereby it flew out of the municipal council for a short time due to its poor performance in 2003. In the last municipal council election in 2009, the ÖVP received 67.9 percent or 9 seats. The SPÖ achieved its third-best result to date with 21.5 percent and three mandates, the FPÖ achieved one mandate with its best result of 10.6 percent.

The mayor has been determined by direct election since 1997 , with no absolute majority for a candidate in a runoff election . Mayor Heinrich Pusch (ÖVP), who has been in office since 1991, won the first direct election with 78.7 percent in the first ballot. In 2003 it achieved a result of 72.2 percent. Pusch was replaced in 2008 by Franz Hofer (ÖVP), who was confirmed in office in 2009 with 79.6 percent of the population. In all three previous direct mayor elections, only one candidate from the SPÖ ran against the ÖVP candidate, with the SPÖ candidates between 20.4 and 27.8 percent.

Mayor since 1850

Term of office	Surname	Term of office	Surname
1850-1861	Joseph Ortner	1912-1916	Leopold Zeller
1861-1864	Anton Jungwirth	1916-1919	Johann Bräuer
1864-1867	Josef Kastner	1919-1924	Leopold Angerer
1867-1873	Anton Jungwirth	1924-1938	Mathias Reumüller
1873-1876	Josef Heiss	1938-1939	Franz Höglinger
1876-1879	Jakob Arnreither	1839-1940	Johann Wolfsteiner
1879-1882	Clemens Ortner	1940-1945	Franz Seyrl
1882-1885	Josef Heiss	1945-1946	Matthias Reumüller
1885-1891	Jakob Wolfsteiner	1946-1961	Rudolf Schlagnitweit
1891-1894	Johann Gahleitner	1961-1991	Franz Hofer
1894-1900	Josef Schönhuber	1991-2008	Heinrich Pusch
1900-1912	Leopold Zeller	since 2008	Franz Hofer
1912	Leopold Angerer

coat of arms

The draft of the municipal coat of arms by Rudolf Zeman from Kirchdorf an der Krems was approved by the municipal council of Kirchberg ob der Donau on May 29, 1980, as was the municipal colors. As a result, the municipality was given the coat of arms by resolution of the Upper Austrian provincial government on July 14, 1980 and the municipality colors were approved. The blazon reads: Humiliated divided; a golden crook and a golden mace with two heads crossed diagonally above in green, below in silver two blue wavy strips. The community colors were set with green-yellow-blue. The crook in the municipal coat of arms stands for St. Otmar, to whom the parish church of Kirchberg is consecrated. The mace crossed with the crook refers to that in the 12th / 13th centuries. Century here settled family of the Kirchbergers. The lower part of the municipal coat of arms symbolizes with its waves the location of the municipality on the Danube and the Great Mühl, which form the municipality boundary in the west, south and east.

Culture and sights

Parish church Kirchberg ob der Donau

Parish church Obermühl in Obermühl on the Danube

See also:  List of listed objects in Kirchberg ob der Donau

• Burgstall Kirchberg above the Danube : At 613 m, the Burgstall is the highest point between the source and mouth of the Danube.
• Catholic parish church Kirchberg ob der Donau hl. Othmar
• Catholic parish church Obermühl Nativity
• Lookout tower : Near the Burgstall there is a 24 meter high timber frame tower with a hexagonal cross-section, from which you have a very good view of the upper Mühlviertel.

• Burgstallfest: Every year there is the so-called Burgstallfest.

Personalities

• Eduard Haiberger (1887–1945), Cistercian and opponent of National Socialism
• Hans Mayrhofer (1876–1949), politician
• Rudolf Zalto (1930 to 2006), innkeeper, butcher and longstanding, multiple award-winning bandmaster and church choir director
• Joachim Rathke (* 1962), actor, director and university lecturer

Web links

Commons : Kirchberg ob der Donau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Community website
• Map in the Digital Upper Austrian Room Information System ( DORIS )
• More information on the town Kirchberg ob der Donau on the geo-information system of the state of Upper Austria .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Province of Upper Austria: Mapping of natural areas in Upper Austria. Landscape survey of the municipality of Kirchberg ob der Donau. Final report. Roitham 2005
2. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
3. ↑ ^{a b} Province of Upper Austria ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Population levels in Upper Austria in comparison by citizenship 
4. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population by religion and federal states 1951 to 2001 (accessed on October 2, 2013)
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Statistics Austria community data from Kirchberg ob der Donau
6. ↑ ^{a b} Province of Upper Austria ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Resident population in Upper Austria compared by age group 
7. ^ Statistics Austria, A look at the community of Kirchberg ob der Donau, population development. Retrieved April 16, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Province of Upper Austria ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Local council elections in Kirchberg ob der Donau from 1945 
9. ^ Province of Upper Austria election results in mayoral elections
10. ^ Province of Upper Austria Mayor of the Kirchberg community since 1850
11. ^ State of Upper Austria coat of arms of the Kirchberg community
12. ↑ Kirchberg ob der Donau observation tower on the website of the Kirchberg ob der Donau community
13. ↑ Rudolf Zalto, in: Regiowiki.at website