Bear head

Bärnkopf is a municipality with 348 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Zwettl district in Lower Austria . Bärnkopf is located in the center of the largest closed forest area in Austria. At up to 1000 meters above sea level, the place is the highest municipality in the Waldviertel. Bärnkopf was awarded the title “climatic health resort” by the office of the Lower Austrian state government.

geography

Bear head

Bärnkopf is located in the Weinsberg Forest on the western edge of the Lower Austrian Waldviertel and in the immediate vicinity of the 1041 m high Weinsberg . The area of the municipality covers 47.62 square kilometers. 94.7 percent of the area is forested.

Community structure

The municipality comprises the following districts:

Bärnkopf with seat of the municipal administration
Mitter-Bärnkopf - located 0.5 km west of Bärnkopf
Unter-Bärnkopf - 1 km west of Bärnkopf
Zilleck - Rotte with three forest houses belonging to the Habsburg-Lorraine estate Persenbeug - 1.5 km west of Bärnkopf on state road 82.
Saggraben - district located around 5 km north of Bärnkopf
Lichteck - district 1 km north of Saggraben.
Weinsbergwiese - three former forest houses east of Bärnkopf on the state road no. 82 towards Gutenbrunn.
Dürnberg / Schöngrund / Dorfstadt - single houses in private ownership (Dürnberg and Dorfstadt) or forester's house of the Habsburg-Lorraine estate Persenbeug (Schöngrund).

Neighboring communities

Altmelon	Schönbach	Bad Traunstein
St. Georgen am Walde		Gutenbrunn
	Dorfstetten	Yspertal

history

Bärnkopf (the name is derived from "Bergengupf") was settled around 1760, when the landowner at the time, Joseph Weber Edler von Fürnberg , began to use the Weinsberg Forest, which had been fallow until then, intensively. Among other things, he built several alluvial ponds, with the help of which the felled wood was washed over the small and large Ysper and the Weitenbach to the Danube at Persenbeug and Weitenegg .

Fürnberg took in many lumberjacks with their families to clear the forests . They came from the surrounding area, from Silesia, Styria, Upper Austria, Tyrol and the Bohemian border. Fürnberg gave his workers land so that they could build houses and run a small farm.

At the end of the 18th century, Fürnberg sold his possessions to Emperor Franz I from Austria . And his descendants (the Habsburg-Lothringen family ) are the owners of this forest in the Weinsberg Forest to this day.

For over 200 years, the residents of the 1,000-meter-high community of Bärnkopf lived almost exclusively from forestry.

Between 1920 and 1933 the forest railway Weinsbergerwald operated between Gutenbrunn and Bärnkopf, this was executed in 760 mm gauge and was used for the transport of wood from the Weinsberger Wald to the sawmill in Gutenbrunn.

At the beginning of 1970, the then mayor Karl Grudl took the first steps in the field of tourism. Thanks to the great commitment of the population, but also of the community, the basis for a successful tourist community has been created over the past 30 years. With the official award of the " climatic health resort " rating in March 2007 by the Lower Austrian state government, the municipality's tourism efforts also found their deserved recognition.

Population development

According to the results of the 2001 census , there were 378 inhabitants. In 1991 the community had 384 inhabitants, in 1981 414 and in 1971 465 inhabitants.

Community partnerships

since 1973 Wiener Neudorf

politics

Image wanted

The municipal council has 13 members.

With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1990, the municipal council had the following distribution: 10 SPÖ and 3 ÖVP.
With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1995, the municipal council had the following distribution: 9 SPÖ and 4 ÖVP.
With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2000, the municipal council had the following distribution: 10 SPÖ and 3 ÖVP.
With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2005 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 10 SPÖ and 3 ÖVP.
With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2010 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 10 SPÖ and 3 ÖVP.
With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2015 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 10 SPÖ and 3 ÖVP.
With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria 2020 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 9 SPÖ and 4 ÖVP.

mayor

1998–2012 Ernst Hauschild (SPÖ)
since 2012 Arnold Bauernfried (SPÖ)

Culture and sights

Bärnkopf parish church

Catholic parish church Bärnkopf hl. Anna
Holzhacker Museum Wood, water, work
Dollhouse of the Schiefer family

economy

There were 21 non-agricultural workplaces in 2001, agricultural and forestry holdings 17 according to the 1999 survey. The number of people in work at the place of residence was 159 according to the 2001 census. In 2001 the activity rate was 43.65 percent.

tourism

Bärnkopf is located in the center of the largest closed forest area in Austria. At up to 1000 meters above sea level, the place is the highest municipality in the Waldviertel and has summer and winter season. Absolutely quiet, no traffic and with excellent air - in the truest sense of the word - Bärnkopf was awarded the title “climatic health resort” by the Lower Austrian government.

Sports

There is a tennis club, a stick shooting club, a Nordic ski club, a women's gymnastics club and a hiking club.

Web links

Commons : Bärnkopf - Collection of images, videos and audio files

32503 - Bärnkopf. Community data, Statistics Austria .
Official website of the Bärnkopf community
Entry about castle ruins Weinsberg on Lower Austria castles online - Institute for Reality Studies of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, University of Salzburg

Individual evidence

^ Result of the local council election 1995 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 30, 2000, accessed on January 11, 2020 .
^ Election result of the municipal council election 2000 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, February 4, 2005, accessed on January 11, 2020 .
^ Election result of the local council election 2005 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 4, 2005, accessed on December 11, 2020 .
^ Election result of the municipal council election 2010 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, October 8, 2010, accessed on January 11, 2020 .
^ Election results for the 2015 municipal council election in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, December 1, 2015, accessed on January 11, 2020 .
↑ Results of the municipal council election 2020 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, January 26, 2020, accessed on January 31, 2020 .
↑ An era came to an end. NEW MAYOR. Arnold Bauernfried succeeded Ernst Hauschild, who had ruled Bärnkopf since 1998, as head of the community. noen.at, March 21, 2012.
↑ Museums - Bärnkopf Tourism - take a breath, relax and recharge your batteries. Accessed October 1, 2018 (German).
^ Official municipality website Bärnkopf: Municipality Bärnkopf - Home. Retrieved October 1, 2018 .

[NÖGrw1995_32503-1] Result of the local council election 1995 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 30, 2000, accessed on January 11, 2020 .

[NÖGrw2000_32503-2] Election result of the municipal council election 2000 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, February 4, 2005, accessed on January 11, 2020 .

[NÖGrw2005_32503-3] Election result of the local council election 2005 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 4, 2005, accessed on December 11, 2020 .

[NÖGrw2010_32503-4] Election result of the municipal council election 2010 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, October 8, 2010, accessed on January 11, 2020 .

[NÖGrw2015_32503-5] Election results for the 2015 municipal council election in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, December 1, 2015, accessed on January 11, 2020 .

[NÖGrw2020_32503-6] Results of the municipal council election 2020 in Bärnkopf. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, January 26, 2020, accessed on January 31, 2020 .

[7] An era came to an end. NEW MAYOR. Arnold Bauernfried succeeded Ernst Hauschild, who had ruled Bärnkopf since 1998, as head of the community. noen.at, March 21, 2012.

[8] Museums - Bärnkopf Tourism - take a breath, relax and recharge your batteries. Accessed October 1, 2018 (German).

[9] Official municipality website Bärnkopf: Municipality Bärnkopf - Home. Retrieved October 1, 2018 .