History of the city of Gmunden
Gmunden is a district capital in the Austrian Salzkammergut and is located on the north side of the Traunsee .
City history
Beginnings
There were forests and rocks everywhere: in between lakes and rivers, initially stilt houses - later huts. Along the descent of the salt , human settlements arose early and prehistoric times, on the river and the lake . Where there are roads - they were probably land or sea routes - existence flourishes. Fishermen were undoubtedly the first people to settle there, because the water provided a food base in addition to the forest.
For the Neolithic , Bronze and Iron Ages , the settlement of Gmunden has been proven by multiple finds. In the 5th century the Illyrians in the area of today's Gmundens were subjugated by the Celts, who in turn were subjugated by the Romans under Octavianus Augustus. After the Great Migration , the Bavarians settled here.
Early middle ages
When the individual huts became a village on the Traun, and when during the 11th century a real transshipment point at the "Gemünde" was not recorded in a document. In a file from the Salt Office from 1670 it says in retrospect: "Instead of the town of Gmunden, verhero, before the salt creature was invented, quite a few fishermen's houses confessed there ..."
The early residents at the mouth of the Traun were liable to pay interest to the sovereign and the Traunkirchen nunnery. At the same time as the flourishing of salt production and the salt trade, the manorial influence of the Traunkirchen women's monastery ended at the end of the 14th century. The salt trade brought with it other trade, this in turn market rights , the demand for protection and fortifications. The Traunfall below Gmundens forced the overland route from there, i.e. the handling and storage of goods. At the same time, there was subsequently a trade in freight for the upper - at the time unproductive except in mining - the rear Traun Valley. The fact that the authorities always “knew how to cut a slice” proves that for Gmunden a princely toll was first mentioned in the 13th century in the Rationarium Austriae . Since there were differences, a legal authority was soon required by the sovereign.
Elevation to the city
Legal history knows the following characteristics of a medieval city: 1. Market law, 2. City wall , 3. Jurisdiction . These were all given early.
When Gmunden from a fixed market for the city was also not exactly known. It is quoted from old sources that Gmunden was moved with walls and ditches as early as 1186 and that it was elevated to a country town in 1188. Others say that the city became a town only after 1230.
What is clear is a - no longer original - document from Duke Rudolf III. from Austria from Florianstag 1301 (May 4th), in which Gmunden is referred to as a 'city' and whose organs have the right to seal. Since the mentioned document lists the jury as an existing urban body and the criteria of a city were formally given, it can be assumed that this settlement with the right of cooperative self-government, as represented by the jury, had been a city for years - this evidence of the time of the Gmundens becoming a town is called into question by the fact that the preserved replica of the documents is increasingly viewed as a forgery from the time of humanism .
A document dated March 10, 1344 speaks for the classification of Gmunden as a city, with which Duke Albrecht II confirms a document by Rudolf I to the citizens of Lauffen, in which it said: “daz seu all have right, grace and vreyung, who Our purgers from Gmunden brought us. ”Since Rudolf left Austria before May 1281, there is no doubt that his first document was issued before this date.
Gmunden celebrates the town elevation as it took place in 1278: As a direct consequence of the victory over Premysl Ottokar in the Battle of Dürnkrut (1278), a town elevation, if it was formally carried out, seems most likely. There is a high probability that two years after the restoration of the state system of order under the first Habsburgs, the city was considered as such and undisputedly as a sovereign - i.e. not an imperial, royal or even private, belonging to a landlord.
middle Ages
In the 13th century, Gmunden - like many other cities - was heavily fortified: The outer city wall - 7.8 meters high and 1.9 meters thick at the base - in the area of the current Grabenstrasse and four meters away, an inner one 2 to 4 meters thick, enclosed the waterless moat (this was 22 meters wide in places, the other sides of the city were of course bounded by the lake, this natural boundary was bounded by wooden planks until 1818), which was also called the Zwinger and over the you could reach the outer city wall by means of stairs to battlements. Seven - irregularly arranged on the city wall - towers defended and protected the city. Only a few of those who were joined by the Bockturm on the wooden bridge over the Traun had city gates: the Christophsturm (Theatergasse), the Neutorturm (Badgasse) - also called Rinnerholz - and the Oberturm (Pfarrhofgasse) had them. At the beginning of the 13th century the city wall was not as mentioned above, but merely a wooden palisade protection.
The medieval Gmunden represented everything that protected and protected by boundaries. However, this image of a small but well-fortified and lively sovereign town does not apply to the century in which Gmunden became a town. In contrast to the rich sources for the later Middle Ages, there are no specific documents for the 13th century. It is certain that the area of Gmunden was almost the same size as in the 14th century - the town was expanded in 1313 - but it was much more modest. According to an estimate by the Austrian Central Statistical Office, the city had only about 80 houses at that time - these were small, however, and only offered accommodation to one family. A total population of about 250 people is assumed. Ferdinand Krackowizer gives 180 houses for 1576, including those in the run-up to the city wall. More than a hundred years later, in 1690, there are only 114 houses - this corresponds to the decline in the population in the 17th century mentioned in the Austrian town book.
The settlement was expanded towards the lakeshore, with the original Salz-Lände-Platz becoming the main square. How modest Gmunden was more than 700 years ago is proven by the fact that it had no church of its own , only a chapel . This was the so-called Anna Chapel - the indication that construction began in the 11th century is controversial: According to documents from the Odinariatsarchive of the Diocese of Linz, the chapel was only built in the 13th century. The Anna chapel consisted of a chapel for the dead and an upper church with the modest dimensions 8 m × 6.5 m. While Ohlsdorf is mentioned as a parish as early as 1280 , Gmunden (meanwhile elevated to town) belonged to the large Ohlsdorf parish, and today's parish church, probably built in 1300, was its subsidiary church, which only became its own parish at the beginning of the 14th century. Gmunden did not have its own pastor until 1343. In the same year, Gmunden took over the Ohlsdorf parish, which in turn made Ohlsdorf a subsidiary church. But even then, today's urban areas, the “suburbs” of Gmundens - Seestadl, Traundorf, Weyer, Tastelberg, Schlagen and Traunstein, were not yet subject to the Gmundner parish. These were only removed from the Altmünster parish between 1774 and 1776 and incorporated into the Gmunden parish. In this context, a local parish was established in the Seeschloss Ort in 1784.
The economic and political head of this small town was - in the exercise of the rights and interests of the sovereign - the salt minister or the town judge . Although the names of the pastors have all been handed down, the names of the Salzamtmen are only known from 1325. As in all cities at that time, the town square (the later “upper market” - today market square) was the center of public life and economy. Market law, trade and market permits came from the town council, in the case of Gmundens from the landlord. Self-government only came about when the landlord approved the formation of guilds and guilds , whose economic regulators and religious elements were intended for the organization.
As modest as Gmunden may have been in the 13th century, according to Johann Forstinger's city chronicle (1866), the establishment of a ducal customs post in 1213 testifies to its growing economic importance: bakers and millers formed a common guild until the 16th century. Almost 100 years after Gmunden became a town, there were six bakers; 1479 seven butchers.
Already in 1217 there was a regional court in Gmunden . As a result, the pillory (called “Prechtl”) was located in the middle of the town square , as a symbol and device of justice.
As was characteristic of all city squares of that time, the fountain was. Here the citizens fetched water for human and animal consumption, but also for personal hygiene - this can undoubtedly be described as poor for rural areas and the inhabitants of small towns with rural surroundings. Bathing did not flourish until the later Middle Ages. The town square was originally larger, only at the end of the Middle Ages around 20 houses were built in the area of today's Flehgasse (west of the upper market).
The layout of the streets with workplaces and dwellings in which the individual guilds were represented was quite typical: Salzfertigergasse - assigned to a typical profession in the salt town, Bäckergasse - there was a bakery and Schlossergasse here. The Rinderholzplatz, originally a cattle market, was misunderstood as a Rinnholzplatz - is still called that today, the Badgasse is reminiscent of the bathhouse that was once there - body care and health care. The first written record of the town bath comes from 1498 (it is assumed, however, that this existed much earlier).
The houses were mostly made of wood and clay , seldom made of stone, were thatched, stood on a “tamped” clay floor and only a few parts had a cellar. They had open smoke vents and only a few rooms. Chickens, pigs, in addition to adults and children, often in the room, which often served all functions, including work. Rubbish and excrement simply landed on the unpaved streets, so they were impassable in bad weather. This was not only the case in Gmunden, but in all other "larger" cities of the time. Since hygiene was not of great importance, epidemics often occurred . The modest huts or houses were not built together, but separated from the "rich" simply because of the risk of fire. The Traun Bridge is only noted for the 14th century , but it can be assumed that there was a ferry translation beforehand .
15th century
Already before 1432 there were "salt makers" who stopped the smuggling of salt and protected the salt transports. These riders were heavily armed and their number was constantly increasing: At that time there was even talk of a salt or border foot servant company, whose task was later taken over by the "border cordonists". The salt makers earned their daily bread difficult, however, because they were sometimes seriously injured or even killed in fights with smugglers. 1465 awarded Friedrich III. the city's throat and blood jurisdiction.
From 1490, the city of Gmunden temporarily maintained mercenaries who were deployed by the state above the Enns . Gmunden was much more important as a shipyard for the construction of warships for the imperial Danube fleet, which in 1440 especially proved itself in the fight against the Turks . So-called "Nassaden", which were built in the shipyard, also came from Gmunden: Nassaden were flat, narrow and armored rowing boats, which were especially suitable for use on rivers. In 1535 alone, 28 such boats were delivered to the Kaiser by the Gmundner Werft.
During the reign of Emperor Friedrich III. and Maximilian I, Gmunden is of particular importance as a temporary residence town, in which the two monarchs often held court for weeks and months and concluded important contracts and state business and in their free time devoted themselves to hunting in the Traunsee area. In 1593, Emperor Rudolf II gave the city of Gmunden an "increased and improved coat of arms", which has not been changed to this day.
At the same time one was formed in Gmunden vigilantes who until its dissolution in the Napoleonic wars played a significant role from the beginning of the 17th century. This was subordinate to the city council, which was responsible for the urban war system and was composed of pikemen and musketeers . In 1606 there was already a Gmunden rifle association which pledged to "eagerly defend the imperial chamber property when the enemy threatens". The vigilante's weapons were in the town hall's armory - but they weren't always in perfect condition. The shooting material was kept in the powder tower - first mentioned in a document in 1497 -, belonged to the city fortifications and stood next to the parish church.
Bavaria and peasant occupation in the 17th century
.jpg)
With the seizure of the state of Upper Austria to the Bavarian Duke Maximilian, the most terrible time in the history of the city of Gmunden began. Since the majority of the citizens belonged to the Lutheran faith, they had claimed that “priests and Roman soldiers would defend to the last drop of blood” - this would have been impossible - Gmunden immediately received a Bavarian occupation that exercised a tyrannical arbitrary rule. The uprising of the Obderennsischen peasants in May 1626 was therefore perceived by the citizens of Gmunden as a redemption, but when a "peasant crowd" occupied the city on May 28, 1626 without a fight, the mood changed by leaps and bounds, because there were excesses, those who which caused Bavaria to be inferior to anything. This caused severe economic damage: the salt trade collapsed completely, markets were deserted, and looting was the order of the day across the city. When the peasants agreed an armistice with the imperial commissioners in September of the same year 1626, even those citizens breathed a sigh of relief who had remained true to the evangelical faith despite all the tribulations. But no sooner had the peasants gone than musketeers moved into Gmunden under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bechler, who plundered just as the peasants had previously done. They enclosed Gmunden after their victories over the Bavarian and Imperial troops in mid-October and began to besiege the city. There were quite a few fights that resulted in victims and serious damage to property on both sides. The situation changed abruptly when General Gottfried Heinrich von Pappenheim advanced to Gmunden with the combined Bavarian and imperial troops and defeated the peasant army near Pinsdorf on November 15, 1626. Despite this victory, Gmunden did not become free: the Bavarian occupation remained with the already exhausted and ruined citizens. When the farmers in Hausruck took up arms again in 1628, the Bavarians finally left the city. In 1640 units of Colonel Vogl zu Mühlhausen set up camp in Gmunden. Four years later, the cuirassier regiment Colonel Johann Sigmund Mislik Freiherr referred to Hirschov - the cavalrymen had fought excellently in battles in northern Germany and Saxony - in Gmunden quarters. During the 17th century, Gmunden moved into the front row as a supplier of warships. In the spring of 1661, the Salt Office had to surrender 80 barrels for planned bridge construction by the imperial army in Hungary , in the following year about "45 six-men", 1663 100 ships and 1664 300 six and seven-barges. In the following years, the "imperial obriste Schöfambt" continuously demanded ships, if none were available, anchors and ropes, especially during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683 and the campaigns of Prince Eugene against the hereditary enemy in the east. The Gmundner ship material contributed significantly to the successes of Belgrade , Zenta and Peterwardein . The wood required for shipbuilding was obtained from forests in the Traunsee area, mainly from the forest property of the Scharnstein domain .
The Turkish siege of Vienna in the summer of 1683 did not leave Gmunden without a trace, although the city was never threatened by it: Thousands of refugees had to be taken in and fed, which is why the existing Turkish tax was increased considerably. In addition, the city of Gmunden formed a “Compagnia”, which was headed by the city judge as captain and whose relatives organized a celebration after the liberation battle on the Kahlenberg in September 1683, which devoured a small fortune.
In the spring of 1664, the Upper Austrian regional regiment of Colonel Jakob Maxvell von Tinell was staying in Gmunden and successfully took part in the Battle of St. Gotthard - Mogersdorf in August . At the same time, Gmunden was used for advertising and recruiting for the army. As a result, parts of the Italian regiment garrisoned in Gmunden on foot Colonel Johann Sylvio Graf Portio under the command of Oberwachtmeister Nikolas Graf Lodron, the German regiment on foot Colonel Johann Georg Freiherr von Schwarzenau, the Regiment Ferdinand Ludwig Freiherr von Wopping and the Musketeer Regiment Mannsfeld ( later kuk infantry regiment No. 24).
War of Succession in the 18th century
Like the Turkish siege , the War of the Spanish Succession , which had devastating effects in parts of Upper Austria and what is now the Innviertel , did not pose any threat to Gmunden. In the spring of 1703 two companies of the Solaris regiment (later the Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 47) garrisoned in the city, which was reinforced by a militia (300 to 400 men, all riflemen from the Salzkammergut). In March, three went infantry - regiments during their march to Italy army through Gmunden. At the same time, a military hospital for 193 soldiers of the Reventlau regiment - these were wounded in the fighting over the entrenchments near St. Willibald in January 1774 - was established. In July of the same year, the citizens of Gmunden first met the famous Savoy Dragoons and the D'Albon regiment. This dragoon unit and two escorts - under the command of the Count von Lannoy - came again to Gmunden in 1773 to keep rebellious crypto protesters in check.
During the Austrian War of Succession, Gmunden and the surrounding area looked like a large field camp, although there were never any armed conflicts. The burden on the quarters initially for the Bavarians, the French and after the invasion of the imperial troops in Upper Austria was enormous. From 1742 to February 1743 16 (!) Austrian regiments garrisoned in the city; Among them were three cavalry regiments , which were fewer than the other units, but the horses also had to be maintained by the population, which cost a lot of money.
About a decade later, the situation changed abruptly: The entire Salzkammergut clearly felt the threatening confrontation with revolutionary France. As early as 1796, salt ships had to be parked as army transports and many salt workers were drafted.
19th century
In December 1800 the time had come: after the Battle of Hohenlinden in Upper Austria, which had been decided for them, the French army had invaded and their division stood at the gates of Gmundens on December 19th. Shortly beforehand, Salzoberamtsrat Josef Lenoble had drafted a defense plan that should have turned the entire Salzkammergut into an invincible fortress. This project was just as little implemented as that of General Baron von Dienersperg to keep the city of Gmunden as a bulwark - he had to retreat on orders. In the process, however, a battle developed, of which there is hardly any news: Two escorts of Hussar Regiment No. 6 under the command of Mayor Dominik Graf Hardegg attacked units of the French "Lecourbe" division near Gschwandt on the morning of December 20, 1800, donating large ones Confusion and even made prisoners.
In 1805 and 1809 Gmunden was occupied again by Bavarian and French troops, but there was no fighting. A rapidly deployed youth guard from the city of Gmunden, which the cooperator at the Georg Fischer parish church looked after, was supposedly perfectly equipped and well trained, when a Bavarian regiment marched into Gmunden on May 3, 1809, they showed themselves to be cowardly men and fled. The French Wars put enormous strain on the citizens of Gmunden. When a war with Bavaria was imminent in 1813, field fortifications were immediately built. The Gmunden garrison consisted of the battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 33, a company of Infantry Regiment No. 44 and an artillery unit with four guns. A “war fleet” with “six very powerful salt ships” was even formed. However, all these measures proved to be unnecessary, because with the Treaty of Ried , which was signed in October 1813, Bavaria joined the allied alliance against France.
Development into a spa town
Since 1752 there was a stagecoach connection between Gmunden and Lambach . Thus Gmunden was connected to the European travel network. In addition, the postal route Graz - Salzburg had touched Bad Ischl since 1808 and in 1826 a post office was opened in Ebensee for traffic between Bad Ischl and Gmunden, whereby the mail coaches at Ebensee were translated to Zillen. This was a somewhat complex undertaking, which is why plans for a road from Gmunden to Ebensee appeared in 1827. In the same year, applications for the construction of a railway line from Linz to Gmunden were also submitted. From this time the Salzkammergut, especially Gmunden, developed into a popular travel destination. At first, however, mainly artists and researchers came to this area. Satori complained: “It was formerly the British and the French alone who visited the beauty of the Salzkammergut; It has only been for a few years now that some, but still fewer, residents have been looking for the natural treasures of their homeland. ”The many artists who came to Gmunden indirectly advertised this area. They painted pictures of the beautiful area, which they later sold in Vienna and thus made the Salzkammergut better known.
The economic upswing after the Congress of Vienna had a positive effect on "tourism". A visit to spas and climatic health resorts was soon an absolute must for the "upper class". A little later, mountaineering also became fashionable. Gmunden was able to offer all of these possibilities. The advertising campaign as a holiday region increased year after year. An article about the Salzkammergut that was printed in a daily newspaper caused the actual upswing in popularity - it advertised the new saltwater pools in Bad Ischl and Gmunden.
Since fewer workers were needed in the saltworks due to new methods, many saltworkers lost their jobs. However, the saltworks company had the brilliant idea of experimenting with brine, which laid the foundation for the construction of brine spas. The Tänzelbad was built in Bad Ischl in 1823, and such a bath was only built in Gmunden a year later. This alone was not the reason why Gmunden lagged behind Bad Ischl, but the Gmundner Bad had only half the capacity of the one in Ischl. The inns posed another problem, namely that there was a lack of rooms and the citizens of Gmunden were not prepared to rent them out themselves. A few years later the situation gradually began to improve: many inns also rented rooms, a new inn was opened and the “Bräu am See” even built its own summer residences.
But from this point on, the legendary competition between Gmunden and Bad Ischl began: the Gmunden residents had barely been able to improve their situation than the Ischl residents added by increasing the capacity of the saltwater pool. The Gmundner Solebad had 14 baths, but that of Bad Ischl had 65. This large shortfall was immediately noticeable in the number of overnight stays, the famous artists of the empire were only in Bad Ischl, the crowd pullers did not appear. Nevertheless, the city of Gmunden did not give up: from May 1, 1836, the horse-drawn railway went to Gmunden, which was available for both goods and passenger traffic. From 1838 it was possible to travel from Vienna to Gmunden (Vienna - Linz by steamboat and then on by horse-drawn train). In addition, the translation trips of the horse-drawn carriages were immediately taken over by the steamship Sophie. Josef Kliemstein's efforts to build larger bathing and spa facilities began. Suddenly both the public and the private sector were ready to invest in Gmunden - a lot was modernized. In 1837 the Goldenes Schiff guest house was converted into a hotel, a summer rental house was built, and three years later many citizens converted their houses in order to be able to rent out some rooms. In 1841 a ball and theater hall was built and in 1843 new holiday apartments were created. Most of the renovations were done with the stones of the city wall and the towers, which were gradually removed. Within the next five years, several leisure facilities were built to guarantee the spa guests a varied stay. From 1836 there were also several travel guides from Gmunden - 10 years earlier Bad Ischl was still lagging behind completely, there were not even brochures.
The end of the boom in the salt trade was looming, which is why it was important to find new sources of income - the focus was increasingly on spa tourism, but with Bad Ischl there was serious competition in the immediate vicinity, which had already developed into a global seaside resort. The construction of an esplanade was planned, which should be even more beautiful and wider than the recently built Sophienpromenade in Bad Ischl. Emperor Ferdinand I gave the town of Gmunden the necessary lake ground in 1847. Construction did not start until 1850, however, because there were considerable protests by the citizens of Gmunden, but in 1851 the part was completed up to today's Kuferzeile. As expected, one could "please" the citizens, because there was not a single opponent left in the further expansion up to the city limits in 1862. In addition to the esplanade, other promenades, walking paths and parks were built. In 1852 a new bathing establishment with a swimming school was built by a private stock corporation. However, due to a lack of adequate facilities, the number of spa guests fluctuated strongly (1851: 495, 1854: 856, 1858: 686, 1861: 360), on the other hand the number of brief spa guests rose (1853: 2285, 1858: 3711, 1861: 4093).
The accommodation of guests was not a problem, but there was no regular coordination - that changed in 1855, since then all hotels, holiday apartments etc. have been obliged to register. The other bank of the lake or Traun was completely unimportant for the spa system. It was only with the sale of land on which rich people built villas that districts across the river slowly gained importance. On May 17, 1862, Gmunden was officially declared a spa town.
- On July 17, 1862, the opening of a new bathhouse, the Gmundner Wochenblatt reported the following:
- Today the spa and bath house built by Mr. Medicinal Doctor C. Feuerstein on the esplanade was opened, which is already a new ornament of Gmunden in terms of its external appearance. ... To celebrate the opening of this spa house, the evening was greeted with thunderous gunshots that reverberated in the mountains ... a fireworks display at the end ensured a pleasant change. Many barges and flagged boats crossed on the calm mirror of the Traunsee and an innumerable mass of foreign guests and locals swept through the esplanade, so that one would have believed that one was on the boulevard of a capital city.
The most important hotel complexes in Gmunden at the beginning of 1900:
Hotel Bellevue
Cafe / Hotel Corso
Hotel Post
Hotel Goldenes Schiff and Garni
The spa commission decided to expand the entertainment program, which is why the town theater, which still exists today, was built in 1872. In addition, various associations were founded (for example the yacht club 1881). In 1887, the first decision was made to organize a sea flower parade, which was a great success. With the opening of the sanatorium in 1898, comprehensive medical care was achieved.
- When King Edward VII stayed in the Traunsee town in 1881, he said:
- "On my long travels I have seen a lot of beautiful and charming areas, but not many nicer spots than Gmunden"
Biedermeier period
During the Biedermeier period , Gmunden was often a garrison location for the 2nd company of the Imperial and Royal 1st Italian Light Battalion, which was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Franz Freiherr von Greiss. In May 1828 the Imperial and Royal Foreign Commission officiated for the first time in the “Goldenes Schiff” inn, before which the conscripts from the Salzkammergut had to appear; 117 men were found fit. In 1844 a powder tower was built on Kalvarienberg .
From the March storm to the battle of Auronzo-Treponti
In the March storm of 1848 a national guard was founded in Gmunden, but it was disbanded in July 1851. A year later, the mayor Johann Tagwerker tried to set up a cadet school in Ort Castle, but this proposal was rejected by the War Ministry. A little later hussars garrisoned in the city: in 1851/52 the Hussar Regiment No. 8, and in 1855/56 the 4th Division of the Radetzky Hussars. In the war year 1859, the infantry regiment No. 62 stayed in Gmunden before it received the order to march to Italy. In 1866 the town was promoted to the Alpine Hunters Corps of Lieutenant Arthur Graf Mensdorff-Pouilly. That unit was very successful at Auronzo-Treponti in the early autumn of the same year, but only 15 men volunteered in Gmunden, seven of whom never returned to their hometown, their names have been noted in the parish church.
In order to be able to keep up with the emperor's residence Bad Ischl , the city of Gmunden had to come up with something. For a modern spa town like Gmunden, the introduction of electricity was simply part of the good sound of its name in the gazettes of the time. Alois Kaltenbrunner, the agile, liberal mayor of Gmundens and at the same time a successful businessman, had the construction company Baron Schwarz in Salzburg as one of the first cities in Upper Austria build the latest water supply and sewer system, and the subject of a connection between the city and the train station was up for discussion again was standing.
A power plant to supply Gmunden with electricity was to be built. Bad Ischl has had electric light since 1890. Before construction began, ballot papers were distributed to the city, industry and the population as they were all interested in electrical lighting. At that time, however, power generation alone would not have been profitable for the city: The offer of the International Electricity Company of Vienna (later AEG ) to build an electrical works was rejected by the local council on October 22, 1892, as was the idea in 1893 a Viennese accumulator factory to build a small electrical power plant in the Kurzmühle for tourism purposes only. An ideal solution was therefore to be found: By building the tram route between Gmunden city center and the train station, both projects could finally be operated economically.
Finally, in 1894, construction of the tram and the power station began. In the same year, the Gmunden tram opened (on August 13, 1894), which has always been a landmark and tourist attraction of the city of Gmunden.
First World War
In the summer of 1914 in Gmunden - as in all of Austria-Hungary - people were very patriotic: Immediately after the outbreak of war, a youth armed forces were formed, but the planned vigilante group was not established. At the same time, a military station command, a Red Cross foster home, and an emergency reserve hospital - in which up to a thousand wounded were temporarily housed - were set up. At the end of March 1915, the "Salzkammergut Company" was formed, which consisted of voluntary Upper Austrian riflemen. Responsible for this group were lawyer Leo Ghon, businessman Gustav Hamman, senior teacher Hermann Neubacher and the forest officer Otto Hausmann. The shooting ranges of the local shooting clubs were mainly used as practice areas. When the First World War came to an end in November 1918 , looting had to be expected in Gmunden, which is why a security guard was established: The members of this unit wore a red-white-red armband with the city's coat of arms; nothing is known of a deployment of the security forces. The war memorial at the Seebahnhof, erected in 1954, shows the names of the 169 Gmunden soldiers who died between 1914 and 1918. The outbreak of the First World War brought with it the mobilization of the troops, which also affected the city of Gmunden: On August 1, 1914, the called-up citizens of Gmunden were officially bid farewell, and the farewell speech by the mayor at the time was received with great enthusiasm. Just a week later there were first reports of wounded soldiers from Gmunden. At the end of August a vigilante group was founded to protect the city in an emergency. In September 1914 Gmunden took over the task of a hospital town : 190 wounded soldiers arrived and were taken to the hospitals set up for this purpose. Hundreds of wounded arrived in the months that followed. In 1916 there was a rapid deterioration in the supply of the population, which could not be improved for the time being. After the emperor's death there was a mourning rally on November 23, 1916. Some angry citizens destroyed the statue of the emperor. The following year there was a further deterioration in the supply situation and the city was on the verge of ruin. The collapse of the monarchy brought a terrifying increase in thefts, break-ins, and robberies. The city's economic situation improved again, however, and it reached its peak in 1921 with the economic boom.
Interwar period
The events of 1924 in military terms passed the city without a trace, but they contributed to Gmunden's garrison again. The barracks required for this were built in 1935. On April 7, 1936, the 4th Battalion of the Wels Alpine Jäger Regiment No. 8 (under the command of Major Geiger) was set up; from September 16, 1937 it was designated as II. Battalion AJR 8. In 1925 the Gmundner Rathaus was rebuilt (see picture). Two days after the German troops marched into Austria, the Mountain Infantry Regiment 100 moved into Gmunden (this belonged to the Mountain Brigade of the VII Army Corps and marched on March 15 to Micheldorf and from there towards Styria ). From 1938 to 1939 several other military regiments were stationed in the vicinity of the city.
Second World War
During the Second World War , Gmunden became a hospital town for the reception of wounded soldiers. In 1945 there were 6,000 men spread over the Cumberland Castle, Hotel Austria, Kur- und Parkhotel. In the course of the war various (mostly replacement) regiments were stationed in the city. The last was the Grenadier Replacement Regiment, the last commander of which was the Knight's Cross, Colonel Robert Colli; At the beginning of May 1945 he had to hand over the city to the Americans without a fight. The first US unit to reach Gmunden was the 4th Company of the 319th Infantry Regiment, which belonged to the 80th US Infantry Division, was commanded by Maj. Gen. Mc Bride commands.
The city of Gmunden and its immediate vicinity had 411 prisoners to complain about, 104 Gmunden were declared missing. A war memorial was erected in the city park for the Stalingrad fighters (stairs to a large cross).
During the occupation , the US troops set up an espionage center against the Soviet Union . Many former SS men were also hired, as it was assumed that they knew about Soviet conditions.
Gmunden was spared from (bomb) attacks in both World War I and World War II, which is why a "ceramic figure" was hung in the parish church to thank: It shows the Mother of God with a long, blue cloak, protecting her hands over the sea, Berg, Schloss Ort and a few houses that are supposed to represent the city of Gmunden. The work of art has been preserved to this day and can be viewed at any time in the parish church.
1945 until today
The economic upturn did not last long. In 1933 there were up to 4,500 unemployed in the Gmunden district. The dissolution of the National Council on March 4, 1933 and the thousand-mark ban only made the situation worse. A year later, the Gmunden volunteer fire brigade carried out air defense exercises. Although the unemployment rate was falling, the city was getting worse. Due to a lack of orders, the largest employer in the region, the Hatschek company, had to stop working. In the following years there was no significant improvement in the economic situation. 1938 Entry of the German troops, a German regiment also marched into Gmunden. After many Gmunden moved to the front, the economic situation improved and unemployment figures fell drastically. Since Jewish shops remained open, a law stipulated that Gmunden citizens were not allowed to shop there. Anyone who did this anyway was printed on a page specially set up for this purpose in the Salzkammergut newspaper. Although the annexation to the German Empire gave many citizens hope, Gmunden was considered the center of resistance. The gendarmerie and police chiefs were exchanged. Since there was still a high potential for resistance, the leaders of the individual groups were imprisoned to prevent riots. A separate agency was set up to locate members of resistance organizations. Nevertheless, there were riots and revolts in the immediate vicinity of Gmunden. An uprising was suppressed by the military in Ebensee , and there were also deaths. The revolts were followed by an attack on the Gmunden district court. In the course of the war the Gestapo managed to arrest dozens of resistance members. All arrested persons were taken to the nearby concentration camp in Ebensee. Resistance organizations repeatedly distributed leaflets, which is why up to 100 Gestapo men were in the Salzkammergut. The resistance did not give up and disguised its activities as a savings association. But here, too, the Gestapo found out, savings associations were banned in the entire district and everyone involved was deported. In 1942 Gmunden had to take in hundreds of refugees. A year before the end of the war, Gmunden became a refugee town, the population grew to 30,000 people, and the community could not cope with this chaos. The city was spared from bombing raids, but the economy was in dire straits towards the end of the war. During the Second World War it was also used as a hospital town. Of the more than 600 Gmundners drafted, not even 13 percent survived the war. During the occupation , the US troops set up an espionage center against the Soviet Union . Many former SS men were also hired, as it was assumed that they knew about Soviet conditions. The city of Gmunden also benefited from the American reconstruction program. In 1975 the tram was shortened to today's terminus at Franz Josefs Platz. The annual congress of the international association of public transport companies takes place in Gmunden. In 1989 the company was on the verge of cessation, 6,000 signatures were collected against the planned closure, the Pro Gmundner Tram Association was founded and the tram is still running today.
future
In 2008 a state exhibition will take place in the Salzkammergut - 12 locations will be involved. Everything will revolve around the world-famous Ort Castle and the Gmundner ceramics - the location will be the leading exhibition and provide an overview of the other exhibitions. But one would also like to integrate the Gmunden city center: For this purpose, the Kammerhof Museum is to be expanded or converted and the Klo & So Sanitary Museum is to be integrated into the city museum. During the state exhibition, a modern tram vehicle for the Gmundner tram is to be rented from the Innsbruck tram.
Since the beginning of July there has been the green light for the construction of the new Lacus Felix hotel from the local council. ÖVP, SPÖ and FPÖ were in favor, but the Greens were against. There are already plans for this, but the hotel building should not be higher than the Parkhotel. In addition, one wants to expand and renew the recreation facilities. Some roads are to be repaved. A reactivation and expansion of the tram to the Seebahnhof is planned for the section from the Franz-Josefs-Platz stop to Rathausplatz, which was closed in 1975, with the city of Gmunden bearing 25% of the costs. In order to promote local public transport even more, the expansion of the Citybus network is planned. In addition, this will Capuchins - Kloster be resolved. There are currently only three monks left. What will happen to the land and buildings is still unclear. There is a two-year termination period - in 2008 the final termination will take place.
Traffic history
Gmunden has always been an important traffic junction. Above all, there were ideal waterways for transporting salt. Around 1800, 300,000 to 400,000 quintals of salt from the Bad Aussee , Hallstatt , Bad Ischl and Ebensee salt pans in Gmunden were packed ready for dispatch, and then shipped on the Traun and further on the Danube .
With the construction of the Budweis – Linz – Gmunden horse-drawn railway , the terminus of which was Gmunden, the trade route across the lake did not lose its importance for the time being, but it was much more dangerous than transport by horse-drawn railway. The approximately 68 km long Linz - Gmunden traffic route was planned as a steam train, but was initially used for horse riding. From 1844 the line was operated with steam locomotives. The traffic performance of this railway was already very impressive in 1836.
In 1858 the first paddle steamer was used on the sea route between Gmunden and Ebensee. When the Kaiserin Elisabeth Railway Vienna – Linz opened in 1860 , Gmunden became even more important as a traffic junction in the Salzkammergut. After 1861, it was from Gmunden Seebahnhof about Lambach and Wels with the railroad after Passau drive and to the rest of Bavaria. From 1872 Gmunden was no longer the terminus of the horse-drawn railway, which gradually led to the city becoming less important as a transport hub.
The first road from Gmunden to Traunkirchen was completed in 1873. Since the salt and coal transports by rail “rolled past” the former salt town of Gmunden on the Traunsee, the town has not been spared economic losses.
With the opening of the Gmunden tram on August 13, 1894, the city had another attraction.
From an important traffic junction and a salt city, the city has changed over time into a spa and tourist resort.
Economic history
As a general rule
In the course of history, the economic center has shifted from the market square to the town hall square, then to the outskirts of the city (the Salzkammergut shopping park). There is little space for large-scale industrial facilities, but some larger companies have settled in the city. The city center is losing more and more importance, the most important commercial center is the SEP with 70 shops and 10 bars.
Company history
The inventor of the material cement - due to the steadily increasing sales - founded today's Gmundner Zementwerke as Hans Hatschek Aktiengesellschaft in 1907. The cement works is one of the oldest industrial companies in the Salzkammergut and has already been expanded and rebuilt several times. The company has its own works railway with a shunting diesel locomotive that has a connection to the ÖBB rail network. LAUFEN Austria AG is one of the world's leading manufacturers of bathroom products. The Gmundner Molkerei was founded as the Gmundner Molkereiengesellschaft Traunsee on June 28, 1931. On March 1, 1951, the new facility in Gmunden went into operation. The dairy products have been sold under the product name "Gmundner Milch" for ten years. Today the Gmundner dairy employs around 300 people and 4,000 farmers supply the company with milk. Energie-AG Oberösterreich has a branch in Gmunden.
literature
General history:
- Austrian city book . Volume I, 1968, ISBN 3-7001-0541-X .
- City of Gmunden: Gmunden - 700 years of the city . Gmunden 1978, DNB 948003561 .
- Ferdinand Krackowizer , History of the City of Gmunden. 3 volumes, 1898–1900.
- Ingrid Spitzbart: Gmunden in old views. 4 volumes, Gmunden 2002, ISBN 90-288-5485-1 .
- Karl Piringer: Gmundner Chronicle. 5 volumes, Gmunden.
- Volumes I to V cover the period from 1900 to 1950. The volumes were published between 1978 and 1985. The Gmundner Chronik is intended as a continuation of the three volumes History of the City of Gmunden (Krackowizer).
- Erwin Hermann, Gmundner Chronik, Volume I: 1950 - 1962, no year,
- Volume I, which has been published so far, is intended as a continuation of Piringer's Gmundner Chronik.
- Musealverein Gmunden (publisher), Das Gmunden-Taschenbuch, 2nd edition, self-published, Gmunden 2008
Traffic history:
- Roland Anzengruber: The horse-drawn railway in old views. European Library Publisher, Zaltbommel (Netherlands) 1985, ISBN 90-288-3137-1 .
- Elmar Oberegger: Railway town of Gmunden. Story train stations lines. (Publications of the information office for Austrian railway history 15). Sattledt 2007, OCLC 870196757 .
Tourism history:
- Wilfried Heller: Tourism in the Salzkammergut. Heidelberg 1970.
- Erwin Prillinger: Greetings from Gmunden. Linz 1972.
- Stephen Sokoloff: "Golden Paths" - cultural and natural treasures from Lake Traunsee to Bad Ischl. 2005.
- Wolfsgruber: The curatives from Gmunden. 1890.
- Gmunden: Gmunden's development as a health resort. 1886 (commemorative publication for the 25th anniversary).
- Gmunden: Gmunden 50 years of health resort. Gmunden 1911.
- Walter Minarz : 90 years of the spa town of Gmunden. Gmunden 1952.
- Erwin Operschal: Gmunden 100 years spa town. Gmunden 1962.
- Cultural administration Gmunden: 125 years of the spa town of Gmunden. Gmunden 1987.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gmunden - 700 years of the city. Pp. 18 and 19.
- ^ Gmunden - 700 years of the city. Pp. 19-22.
- ↑ Quote: 125 years of the spa town of Gmunden. P. 3.
- ↑ Stern & Hafferl - Visions with Tradition , 2003, p. 69.
- ↑ Gmundner Chronik. Volume I, pp. 456-459, p. 482 and p. 549.
- ^ Gmunden - 700 years of the city. Pp. 27-47.
- ^ Book: 125 years of the spa town of Gmunden. 1987.
- ↑ Salzkammergut Rundschau.
- ^ Gmunden - 700 years of the city. 1978, pp. 150-166.
- ^ Websites of the companies Hatschek, Energie AG and Gmundner Milch