Fernitz-Mellach

Fernitz-Mellach
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Styria
Political District :	Graz area
License plate :	GU
Main town :	Fernitz
Surface:	20.51 km²
Coordinates :	46 ° 58 ′  N , 15 ° 30 ′  E Coordinates: 46 ° 58 ′ 27 ″  N , 15 ° 29 ′ 54 ″  E
Height :	321  m above sea level A.
Residents :	4,870 (January 1, 2020)
Postcodes :	8072 8410 Dillach (partly), Mellach (partly)
Area code :	03135
Community code :	6 06 62
Address of the municipal administration:	Erzherzog-Johann-Platz 21 8072 Fernitz-Mellach
Website:	www.fernitz-mellach.gv.at
politics
Mayor :	Robert Tulnik ("We" of course)
Municipal Council : (Election year: 2020) (21 members)	9 1 1 10 9 1 1 10  A total of 21 seats ÖVP : 9 SPÖ : 1 FPÖ : 1 Of course "we" : 10
Location of Fernitz-Mellach in the Graz-Umgebung district
Fernitz town center with Archduke Johann Park
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Fernitz-Mellach is a municipality with 4870 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Graz-Umgebung district in Styria , Austria . The community was created on January 1, 2015 as part of the structural reform in Styria from the communities Fernitz and Mellach, which were dissolved at the end of 2014 .

geography

Geographical location

Fernitz-Mellach is located in the southern part of the Graz-Umgebung district, about ten kilometers south of Graz on the south-eastern edge of the Grazer Feld (formerly Fernitz Feld ) at the transition to the East Styrian hill country . The Mur flows through the community.

Community structure

The municipal area comprises five localities (population in brackets as of January 1, 2020):

• Dillach (392) including Aue, Dillachegg and Dillachhöhe
• Enzelsdorf (302) including Hell and Oberenzelsdorf
• Fernitz (3115) including the suburb
• Gnaning (416) including Fernitzberg, Gnaning-Dorf and Tropbach
• Mellach (645) including Egg, Murberg and Mellach-Dorf

The community consists of three cadastral communities (area: as of December 31, 2018):

• Fernitz (720.78 ha)
• Gnaning (337.88 ha)
• Mellach (994.94 ha)

Neighboring communities

Three of the eight neighboring communities are in the Leibnitz  (LB) district.

000000 Gössendorf Feldkirchen near Graz000000	Hausmannstätten	Empersdorf (LB)
Kalsdorf near Graz Werndorf		Heiligenkreuz am Waasen (LB)
Wildon	Wildon (LB)	Heiligenkreuz am Waasen

history

The area of ​​the municipality of Fernitz-Mellach was already settled in Roman times. Copper Age finds in the area of ​​Mellach and Enzelsdorf as well as settlement remains from the Hallstatt period point to an even earlier settlement history.

In the 6th century, Slavs came to the area from the east . The name Fernitz clearly shows Slavic origins. In 1160 the Lords of Pranckh built a chapel . In 1209 Fernitz was first mentioned in a document under the name “Vorenze” (= settlement on Föhrenbach ). In 1210, Eberhard II , Archbishop of Salzburg , confirmed the decision of the dispute over the church's membership in Straßengel . The Vorinze Hube is mentioned again in this document .

The years 1469 to 1490 were terrible years: the Magyars invaded the country with great brutality. In 1480, after the Turkish invasion, the Maria Trost zu Fernitz church was opened by Emperor Friedrich III. built in its current form as a votive church. 1482 pledged Friedrich III. the Ungeld to Vatersdorf and around u. a. zu Fernitz for a hundred pounds a year to a Jörg Pettenböck.

In 1680 the plague raged in Fernitz and carried away many residents. At that time there was already a school building in Fernitz , which must have been one of the oldest houses in the town. In 1826 the school building and with it 30 houses and 34 farm buildings were destroyed in a fire .

In 2009 a Roman grave with a presumably female skeleton as well as pearls, a glass vessel and a ceramic drinking cup was found in the district of Fernitz. Nothing is known of an associated Roman settlement.

The Fernitz elementary school was renamed " Marianne Graf Elementary School" in 2012 in the course of renovation work and in honor of the development worker of the same name .

On January 1, 2015, the merged community was created by merging the communities of Fernitz and Mellach .

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

Fernitz-Mellach is conveniently located south of Graz, many main roads are close to the community without going directly through the community.

The Pyhrn Autobahn A 9 can be reached in around five kilometers via the Kalsdorf junction (exit 194). The south autobahn A2 also passes near the municipality. The closest connection point is the Graz-Ost junction at Raaba-Grambach (exit 179) about six kilometers away.

Fernitz-Mellach is well connected to the network of former federal highways, so Grazer Straße B 67 can be reached in about two kilometers in the neighboring town of Kalsdorf or in the south in about eight kilometers via Wildon. The Unterkirchbacherstraße B 73 is about two kilometers in the neighboring Hausmannstätten reach.

Fernitz-Mellach does not have its own train station. The nearest train station is in the neighboring town of Kalsdorf (approx. 3 km) and offers access to the Austrian Southern Railway with hourly regional train connections to Graz and Leibnitz.

The Graz Airport is about seven kilometers away.

Established businesses

In the Mellach area, Verbund operated an oil / gas combined cycle power plant which, thanks to the integrated combined heat and power system, not only supplied electricity but also heat and met the highest ecological requirements. In 1996 the power plant was certified as the cleanest and best plant in Europe with the eco-audit. In 2007, the construction of an 850 MW gas and steam power plant in Mellach was approved at the same location, which was officially handed over to the network by general contractor Siemens on June 22, 2012. In total around two million tons of CO _{2 were} emitted, which increased the total CO ₂ emissions of the federal state of Styria by around 20%. The oil / gas power plant with a 175 m high two-pass chimney was demolished in the summer of 2017, for which a 1000-tonne crawler crane, including counterweights, was erected for several weeks in July.

The nearby hard coal-fired power plant is scheduled to be shut down in mid-2020. The owner, Verbund, wanted to sell or mothball the modern gas turbine-steam turbine combined cycle power plant, but decided to keep it in March 2017 and has been using it flexibly during the day since May 2017.

Also nearby is the Mellach hydropower plant as a run-of-river power plant in the Mur, and a little further up the river, the Kalsdorf power plant, which went into operation in 2013 .

Education, social affairs and culture

Kindergarten and schools

There are three public schools in Fernitz-Mellach: the Mellach elementary school and the Marianne Graf elementary school together with the Fernitz music school in the Fernitz district. There are two kindergartens and crèches and an after-school care center for all-day childcare for early childcare. A general secondary school is located in the neighboring municipality of Hausmannstätten, the NMS Hausmannstätten.

Libraries

• Fernitz-Mellach public library

Sports

There are several sports clubs in Fernitz-Mellach, including the football club FC Fernitz-Mellach, two ice stock clubs, as well as running and tennis clubs.

Doctors and pharmacy

A pharmacy, several general practitioners and specialists are available to provide health care for the population.

Nursing home

The Caritas Styria operates a residential care home in Fernitz.

Attractions

See also:  List of listed objects in Fernitz-Mellach

Maria Trost zu Fernitz

Pilgrimage Church of Maria Trost

The most famous sight of the place is the pilgrimage church Maria Trost . Maria Trost in Fernitz has been a place of pilgrimage since 1150, making it one of the oldest in Styria. The current late Gothic building was built between 1506 and 1514.

Filial church hl. Jacob

The branch church of St. Jakob in the Enzelsdorf district was first mentioned in a document in 1152 and is considered one of the oldest church buildings in Styria. In the 17th century the church was expanded in its present form.

Archduke Johann Park

In 1966, a park was created in the center of the village through the sewage system, backfill and drainage of the approximately 12,000 m² swamped village meadow, into which sewage had previously been channeled. The newly built park with a fountain made up of four fountains in a square basin was opened the following year.

In 1982, the Archduke Johann Park , the village park was given its current name in memory of the Styrian prince : "Archduke Johann Park".

After three years of project planning and another three months of implementation, the park was redesigned as part of the town center renewal in 1999. In addition to replanting and preserving old trees, the promenade and the fountain were renewed. With this project, the municipality was awarded the Styrian Local Renewal Award in 2000.

In the spring of 2006, the park was expanded to include themed gardens. Around 4,000 companion plants were planted for the approximately 200 varieties of Funkia. Thus, the Erzherzog-Johann-Park is unique of its kind in Austria.

In 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 Fernitz was chosen as the “most beautiful flower village in Styria” for this endeavor.

More Attractions

• Aumühle zoo

politics

Municipal council

The Fernitz municipal council consists of 21 members and, since the municipal council election in 2015, has consisted of mandates from the following parties:

• 14 ÖVP
• 2 Mellach citizens' list
• 2 SPÖ
• 2 FPÖ
• 1 green

The last municipal council elections brought the following results:

Political party	2020			2015
	be right	%	Mandates	be right	%	Mandates
ÖVP	1070	44	09	1704	62	14th
SPÖ	0173	07th	01	0280	10	02
FPÖ	0135	05	01	0270	10	02
Mellach citizens' list	not running			0293	11	02
The green	not running			0215	08th	01
Of course "we"	1081	44	10	not running
voter turnout	61%			72%

mayor

Mayor is Karl Ziegler (ÖVP). The community board also includes the first vice mayor Nina Kostner (ÖVP), the second vice mayor Helmut Baudendistel (ÖVP), the community treasurer Werner Skringer (ÖVP) and board member Robert Maitz (ÖVP).

After the 2020 municipal council elections, the parties agreed in July 2020 on Robert Tulnik from the list of citizens, of course "We", who is to be proposed as mayor at the constituent meeting.

coat of arms

• Coats of arms of the previous municipalities
• 

  Fernitz

• 

  Mellach

Both previous communities each had a community coat of arms. Due to the amalgamation of municipalities, these lost their official validity on January 1st, 2015.

The new municipality coat of arms for the merged municipality took place in September 2019.

The blazon reads:

"In red a golden stake covered with a blue heraldic lily, in front and behind a silver battle ax with the edge turned outwards."

The new coat of arms thus shows elements from the two coats of arms of the old communities.

Community partnerships

• Somogyjad , Hungary
• Vékény , Hungary

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the church

• Maximilian Liebmann (* 1934), Roman Catholic theologian and church historian, born in the Dillach district
• Gerhard Liebmann (* 1970), Austrian actor

Known residents

• Andy Töfferl (1955–2012), musician, last lived in Fernitz

literature

• Ingo Mirsch: The history of the Fernitz community . Fernitz community, 2005, ISBN 3200002654 . Available at the municipal office.

Web links

Commons : Fernitz-Mellach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• 60662 - Fernitz-Mellach. Community data, Statistics Austria .
• www.fernitz-mellach.gv.at Homepage of the Fernitz-Mellach community

Individual evidence

1. ^ Styrian municipal structural reform .
2. ↑ Section 3, Paragraph 3, Item 2 of the Act of December 17, 2013 on the Reorganization of the Municipalities of the State of Styria ( Styrian Municipal Structural Reform Act - StGsrG), State Law Gazette for Styria of April 2, 2014, No. 31, year 2014, ZDB - ID 705127-x , p. 3.
3. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
4. ↑ CSV file from REGIONALINFORMATION.zip  (1,221 kB) ; accessed on January 12, 2019
5. ↑ Article by the Federal Monuments Office on the discovery of a Roman grave in Fernitz , bda.at, February 2009
6. ↑ The tallest structure in Styria is being demolished , kleinezeitung.at on July 28, 2017; accessed on September 17, 2019.
7. ↑ Manfred Neuper: Mellach is now playing the fire department. Kleine Zeitung, print July 28, 2017, p. 28 f.
8. ↑ Austria closes the last coal power plants , steiermark.orf.at on June 3, 2019; accessed on September 17, 2019.
9. ^ Community Fernitz-Mellach, Education, Public Library. Retrieved June 23, 2019 . 
10. ^ Fernitz-Mellach community, health, doctors and pharmacy. Retrieved June 23, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Caritas Styria, Our Offers, Nursing Homes. Retrieved June 23, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Description of the project (PDF) ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
13. ↑ Robert Price: Fernitz-Mellach: Citizen list provides third mayor in GU. In: Small newspaper . July 25, 2020, accessed July 28, 2020 . 
14. ↑ 67. Announcement of the Styrian state government of September 12, 2019 on the granting of the right to use a municipal coat of arms to the municipality of Fernitz-Mellach (political district of Graz-Umgebung) , ris.bka.gv.at, accessed on September 17, 2019.