Laa an der Thaya

Borough Laa an der Thaya
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Lower Austria
Political District :	Mistelbach
License plate :	MI
Surface:	72.89 km²
Coordinates :	48 ° 43 '  N , 16 ° 23'  E Coordinates: 48 ° 43 '21 "  N , 16 ° 23' 12"  E
Height :	183  m above sea level A.
Residents :	6,241 (January 1, 2020)
Postcodes :	2136, 2064
Area code :	02522
Community code :	3 16 29
Address of the municipal administration:	Stadtplatz 43 2136 Laa an der Thaya
Website:	www.laa.at
politics
Mayoress :	Brigitte Ribisch ( ÖVP )
Municipal Council : ( 2020 ) (29 members)	14th 8th 3 3 1 14th 8th 3 3 1  A total of 29 seats ÖVP : 14 PROLAA : 8 SPÖ : 3 ULLAA : 3 FPÖ : 1
Location of Laa an der Thaya in the Mistelbach district
new town hall
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Laa an der Thaya is a town with 6241 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the northern Weinviertel in Lower Austria , right on the border with the Czech Republic (or Moravia ).

geography

Laa is located in the north of the Weinviertel in Lower Austria and has developed into the center of the upper Weinviertel. The area of ​​the municipality covers 72.89 km². 2.87% of the area is forested. Laa is close to the Thaya , which was regulated in the 19th century, and therefore does not have a direct flow through it. Only the artificially created Thayamühlbach Canal crosses the city.

Community structure

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

• Hanfthal (548)
• Kottingneusiedl (293)
• Laa an der Thaya (4755)
• Rest courtyard (3)
• Ungerndorf (133) including Ungerndorfer Hof
• Wulzeshofen (509) including Blaustaudenhof and Geiselbrechthof

The community consists of the cadastral communities Blaustaudnerhof , Geiselbrechthof , Hanfthal, Kottingneusiedl, Laa an der Thaya, Laaer Herrengüter , Laaer Klafter , Pernhofen , Ruhhof , Ungerndorf and Wulzeshofen.

Neighboring communities

Important information is missing from this article or section. Help Wikipedia by researching and pasting it .

climate

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Laa an der Thaya Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 2.2 4.6 9.8 16.1 21.2 24.0 26.7 26.2 20.8 14.6 7.6 2.8 O 14.8 Min. Temperature (° C) -3.5 -2.6 1.1 5.0 9.7 12.5 14.3 14.1 10.4 6.1 1.9 -2.0 O 5.6 Temperature (° C) -1.0 0.4 4.7 9.9 15.1 18.0 20.2 19.6 14.7 9.5 4.2 0.1 O 9.7 Precipitation ( mm ) 23 24 33 31 58 66 64 57 52 27 31 30th Σ 496 Humidity ( % ) 75.1 66.2 56.9 48.3 50.6 51.3 48.1 48.1 54.3 62.4 73.5 78.5 O 59.4 T e m p e r a t u r 2.2 -3.5 4.6 -2.6 9.8 1.1 16.1 5.0 21.2 9.7 24.0 12.5 26.7 14.3 26.2 14.1 20.8 10.4 14.6 6.1 7.6 1.9 2.8 -2.0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Source: ZAMG average climate values ​​1981 - 2010

history

middle Ages

In the 12th century there was a village in the Thaya lowlands at a ford of the important north-south connection from the Danube to the Bohemian region (first documented mention in 1150 in a Passau land register). Around 1190, the Babenbergs took over property from several landlords and Duke Leopold VI . founded a town on the site of the village around 1230. It was laid out in a rectangular shape according to the plans customary at the time and was primarily intended as a defensive assembly point for military actions against enemies from the north and east.

In the 13th century Laa was an important place in the country's history, which was often the focus of military conflicts. Battles took place in front of the gates under Frederick the Arguable and then under Ottokar II Přemysl . This promoted Laa especially, installed his confidante Kadolt von Wehing as city governor and confirmed the (not preserved) Leopoldine city charter. The well-known Laa schoolmaster letters, an important source for the regional history of the 13th century, also come from this time. When Rudolf von Habsburg came to power, the citizens paid homage to him, and in 1281 he confirmed all their rights and privileges. The city coat of arms, a city gate with crenellated towers, with the red and white shield in the center, also dates from this time.

Laa lost its importance under the early Habsburgs and was usually given as pledge to ducal financiers or to various noblemen in order to keep contracts. These did not care much about the economic advancement and expansion, and so Laa had become a meaningless place in the restless 15th century, in which the enemies often dwelt. In 1407 it was conquered by the Moravian general Johann Sokol von Lamberg , and in 1426 the Hussites set fire to it . In order to stop the decline and provide the citizens with funds for reconstruction, the sovereigns gave the Laaers various privileges, including the right in 1454 to serve beer beyond the city limits.

From 1442 the future Pope Pius II (with the real name Enea Silvio de 'Piccolomini ) is said to have been pastor here for eight years. A window in the parish church still shows him. The well-known distich is ascribed to him: "Aemula Venetiis, urbs antiquissima Laa, haec iacet in medio stercoris, illa maris." ("You ancient city of Laa are the rival of Venice , just like this one in the middle of the feces, the one in the middle of the sea" ).

Modern times

The time of the Thirty Years War meant decline again for Laa, because in 1619 Bohemian troops lay in the city for months and sucked it out economically. At that time, the city archive with all old documents and protocols was lost. It was conquered by the Swedes in 1645 and most of the houses were deserted after they left. It was not until 1680 that Laa had regained its previous number of houses, but continued to lead an insignificant shadowy existence among the cities of the country.

When Napoleon I came through Laa in 1809 and stayed here for the night, he found a rather impoverished, sleepy provincial town surrounded by marshland and with single-storey thatched houses. But a decade later, a sustained upswing began under the leadership of Simon Scheiner. This man, who was important for Laa, was first active as a city councilor and from 1829 to 1861 as mayor. He first revitalized the markets, tried very hard to regulate the Thaya, which happened from 1830, and thus provided the Laaer arable citizens with new, productive agricultural areas, as the groundwater level fell through these measures and the disused swamp meadows could now be used as fields. The loss-making municipal businesses, the mill and the brewery, were sold, the construction of new houses promoted, the canalization and paving of the alleys and squares advanced and the construction of new streets in the surrounding area began. The narrow medieval city gates and the massive city wall were removed.

Simon Scheiner also managed to get the district court and tax office to Laa after 1850. This made Laa the central location of the region, many people came to the city, the weekly market, especially as a transhipment point for grain, was of great importance, shops and businesses were opened, a savings bank was set up, and the city flourished. Since 1869 it was connected to the imperial residence of Vienna , but also to Brno , by the Laaer Ostbahn ; there was now a pharmacy , doctors and schools. Associations were able to develop social life in numerous inns, the education of young people was promoted, especially in 1911 through the establishment of an association secondary school, at that time the most modern educational institution of its kind in the monarchy.

With the end of the First World War and the end of the Danube Monarchy , Laa faced difficult times again, because suddenly it was a border town that lacked the larger and more important part of its hinterland.

Second World War

During the last days of World War II , between April 19 and 22, 1945, Laa was attacked several times from the air by the Soviets . These air raids caused widespread damage to buildings and killed 22 civilians. Artillery losses also occurred, as the front south and east of the city remained unchanged for almost three weeks. It was not until May 7 that the German troops evacuated their positions after blowing up around 30 bridges and retreated towards Znojmo . On May 8th, the Red Army , coming from Ungerndorf, occupied the city. Heavy fighting took place in Ungerndorf itself on April 19, with over 20 Russian and two German tanks being shot down. Ungerndorf was then plundered by the Russians and mostly burned down.

Russian Orthodox Church at the Laa an der Thaya military cemetery

The grandfather of the Russian oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska was killed in a battle near Laa in 1945 and later buried in the city's Russian military cemetery. In 2006 Deripaska first visited the grave, a few weeks later a company he owned bought a plot of land adjacent to the military cemetery in order to build a church here in memory of his grandfather. This church was built on a smaller scale based on the model of the Church of the Protection and Intercession of Mary on the Nerl in Russia, which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The components for the church were made in Russia by stonemasons from sandstone, loaded on around 1,700 pallets and brought to Austria in 72 truck trips to be assembled here. On September 30, 2018, the church was ceremoniously handed over to its destination in the presence of the Russian Orthodox Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Head of the Foreign Office of the Moscow Patriarchate Hilarion Alfeyev .

Post-war and present

Until 1955, Laa was in the Soviet occupation zone , the border with the neighboring state of ČSSR was closed, and Laa was at the Iron Curtain . Since the turnaround in Eastern Europe and the opening of the border, the old border town has been on the up again. A thermal spa resort was opened in 2002 . In December 2006, the electrified Laa - Vienna rapid transit railway went into operation and provides improved public transport connections to the federal capital. After more than 60 years of partially strong population decline, the population is now increasing continuously.

Population development

coat of arms

Blazon : "A blue shield, covered with two crenellated square silver towers, between which there is a red-silver-red shield with a golden anchor cross, the tip of which extends below the base line of the towers."

Community partnerships

• since 2003 with Garching an der Alz in Germany
• since 2004 with Świętochłowice in Poland
• since 2005 with the district of Chrlice ( Chirlitz ) in Brno, Czech Republic
• There is a sponsorship for the expelled South Moravians from Höflein an der Thaya in the Znaim district.

politics

The municipal council has 29 members.

• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1990, the municipal council had the following distribution: 17 ÖVP, 11 SPÖ and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1995, the municipal council had the following distribution: 17 ÖVP, 9 SPÖ, 2 BLL-Bürgerliste Laa and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2000, the municipal council had the following distribution: 17 ÖVP, 9 SPÖ, 2 FPÖ and 1 BLL-Bürgerliste Laa.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2005 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 17 ÖVP, 11 SPÖ and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal elections in Lower Austria in 2010 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 14 ÖVP, 8 SPÖ, 6 PROLAA – Team Stenitzer (near ÖVP) and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal elections in Lower Austria in 2015 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 13 ÖVP, 8 PROLAA – Team Stenitzer (near ÖVP), 6 SPÖ and 2 FPÖ.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria 2020 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 14 ÖVP, 8 PROLAA – Team Stenitzer, 3 SPÖ, 3 ULLAA – Independent List Laa Team Nikodym and 1 FPÖ.

mayor

• 1992–2014 Manfred Fass (ÖVP)
• since 2014 Brigitte Ribisch (ÖVP)

Culture and sights

Laa Castle on the Thaya

Catholic parish church Laa an der Thaya

Old Town Hall

Citizens' hospital with hospital church

See also : List of listed objects in Laa an der Thaya  and List of cellar alleys in Laa an der Thaya

From the early days of the city's history, the castle complex, remains of the city wall, the city parish church and the rectory, the citizens' hospital and the old town hall have been preserved.

• Burg Laa an der Thaya: The Laaer Burg initially served as the last place of retreat surrounded by a moat in the event of threats and not as a residential castle. Later, the typical city-side butter barrel tower was built (after 1400), and finally residential and utility rooms. Over the centuries, various noble families were owners, until 2007 it was privately owned by Andreas Hofer. After years of efforts, the municipality succeeded in purchasing the castle in 2007, which is considered the landmark of the venerable city. The castle has housed the first Austrian beer museum since 1972.
• Remnants of the city wall can also be found in the north-west of the city. In the so-called Reckturm there is a Swedish ball that is said to come from the time the city was besieged by the Swedes.
• Catholic parish church Laa an der Thaya hl. Veit: The church is one of the large late Romanesque places of worship in the district, with the apse being of art historical interest. It is dedicated to St. Vitus . The interior impresses with the spatial effect. Rebuilt several times after damage (1466, 1795), the church got a baroque high altar , a pulpit and an organ in the 18th century . In the past, the parish was always occupied by important men as pastors, for example Albert von Rickmersdorf , the founding rector of the University of Vienna , the important astronomer Johannes von Gmunden , and others. a. Tradition also says that Aeneas Piccolomini , who later became Pius II, held the parish between 1442 and 1450. The well-known distich is ascribed to him: "Aemula Venetiis, urbs antiquissima Laa, haec jacet in medio stercoris, illa maris." ("You ancient city of Laa are Venice's rival, like this one in the middle of the Koth, the one in the middle of the sea") .
• Citizens ' hospital complex: The complex consists of an early Gothic chapel, originally probably a pilgrims' hospice and therefore consecrated to St. Jacob, to which wings were later added and used for pensions for the citizens. In the past, the municipal Meierhof with the brewery was also part of it.
• The town's brewery was recently renovated, and the building is now one of the town's cultural and historical treasures. The Meierhof was closed in the 18th century, and the brewery was sold to the citizen Anton Kühtreiber in 1847, the Hubertus brewery that still exists today.
• Old Town Hall Laa an der Thaya: The Old Town Hall on the town square was once the dominant building in the city center. It was on what was then the main street that led through the Brüdertor (the name comes from a Minorite monastery that was directly inside) to the northern Böhmertor along the Lange Reihe across the large square. The old town hall, whose walls and facade clearly show the traces of all centuries, has been renovated and today houses a wine market, a South Moravian museum, the city library and an event hall.
• Opposite the old town hall is the Roland column (Pranger-Hansl), a pillory column from 1575.
• On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I , a new town hall was built between 1898 and 1899, which today dominates the square in the typical shape of a turn-of-the-century building. The building was built according to the plans of the Viennese architect and city builder Peter Paul Prang in the style of historicism and reflects Laa's rise to a political and economic center of the region.
• The Marian column or plague column from 1680 is located in the immediate vicinity of the new town hall .

Museums

• Beer museum
• Carriage Museum
• South Moravian Museum of Local History

Hanfthal coat of arms

• The cadastral municipality of Hanfthal is one of the few Rundanger villages in Austria, which is also reflected in the municipality's coat of arms.
• As part of the European competition Entente Florale Europe , Hanfthal was awarded a silver medal in the village category in 2008.

Regular events

An onion festival takes place in Laa in August and a St. Nicholas parade in December. The international radio exhibition Laa takes place every two years and has visitors from all over Central Europe.

economy

Hubertus Bräu

According to the 2001 census, the number of people in employment at the place of residence was 2708. The employment rate in 2001 was 45.13%. In 2001 there were a total of 294 non-agricultural workplaces, agricultural and forestry operations according to the 1999 survey 146. Although the city is located in the Weinviertel , no wine is grown in Laa itself .

Western Europe's largest agricultural trailer manufacturer, the vehicle construction company Hans Brantner , and other medium-sized commercial, craft and department stores are based in Laa . The largest industrial company in the region is the world's largest citric acid factory owned by Jungbunzlauer Austria AG in the Pernhofen cadastral community. The origins of the Hubertus Bräu brewery go back to 1454.

Under the leadership of Mayor Fass, a thermal water project managed by VAMED AG was implemented after successful thermal water drilling. The thermal bath has been in operation since 2002 with 400,000 visitors a year, which initiated an intensified development towards tourism . The thermal spring has an outlet temperature of 42 degrees. In November 2005 Lower Austria's first 4-star superior hotel was opened. The number of overnight stays in Laa an der Thaya has increased tenfold from 7451 (2002) to 70,918 (2015) overnight stays, the regional added value increased eightfold in the same period.

In July 2015, the redesign and expansion of the Therme Laa - Hotel & Spa thermal baths began . 21 million euros will be invested in the lead project. The project was funded from regional funds from the State of Lower Austria ( Ecoplus ) with co-financing from the EU Commission ( ERDF Structural Fund).

traffic

• Rail: Laa has had a connection to the Ostbahn (northern line) to Vienna since 1869 , which was electrified in 2006. This brought a reduction in travel time and direct connections to the federal capital. Line S2 runs from Vienna to Laa. The connection to Hevlín (Höflein) and Brno has been interrupted since 1945, when the Second World War ended. There are currently plans to rebuild it. The railway connection to Zellerndorf to the Vienna – Znojmo railway line , the Pulkautalbahn , opened in 1873 , was discontinued in 1988 for passenger traffic and is now only relevant for freight traffic.
• Street: Laa is connected to Korneuburg via Laaer Straße B 6 . The Pulkautal Straße B 45 leads via Jetzelsdorf to Horn in the Waldviertel . The city ​​is connected to the district capital via Staatzer Straße B 46 . In the course of the construction of the Nord / Weinviertel Autobahn A 5, this road is to be expanded into a motorway feeder so that Laa will have an intersection-free motorway connection. The eastern bypass was opened on February 19, 2010 and has since been extended to the west. It bypasses the city in the south and joins the B 45 at the “Thayapark” industrial park.
• Border: Laa is an important road border crossing into the Czech Republic.
• Airfield: To the south of Kottingneusiedl there is an airfield (so-called "external landing site"). Slope 900 m × 25 m, grass.

education

• Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium Laa / Thaya
• Federal Commercial Academy Laa an der Thaya
• New Middle School Laa II and New Music Middle School Laa
• New Middle School Laa I and New Sports Middle School Laa
• Polytechnic School Laa
• State vocational school Laa
• Elementary school Laa / Thaya
• General special school Laa

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the church

• Josef Bergauer (1880–1947), actor
• Michael Bindlechner (* 1957), director
• Wilhelm Börner (1882–1951), moral educator
• Josef Gall (1820–1898), journalist
• Matthias Göstl (1868–1927), politician and master carpenter
• Rudolf Hajek (* 1963), wheelchair table tennis athlete, multiple medalist at European Championships, World Championships and Paralympics
• Paul Christian Jezek (* 1963), author ("Der Fall Libro", "Unternehmer Handbuch"), founding member of WirtschaftsBlatt (1995) and editor-in-chief of "UNTERNEHMER"
• Wilhelm Jezek (1941–2009), painter, musician, secondary school teacher
• Ernst Kolar , football player, Olympic participant in 1952
• Johann Krejcirik (* 1952), soccer player and coach
• Jennifer Kresitschnig (* 1976), née Martha Jezek, author (“Unclear”, “In search of the mysterious dragon. Lilly and Nikolas in Carinthia”, “Anne von Rien. The big tournament”), research assistant at the ÖSD
• Erich Lederer (1923–2003), musician, composer and arranger
• Adolf Oberländer (1867–1923), architect
• Robert Pensch (1881–1940), composer
• Walter Riedl (1952–2001), politician and tax advisor
• Kurt Weiss (1895–1966), painter
• Gerd Wimmer (* 1977), footballer

People related to the community

• Karl Hörmann (1915–2004), theologian, graduated from the secondary school in Laa in 1933
• Christian Konrad (* 1943), Advocate General of the Raiffeisengenossenschaft, went to high school in Laa
• Helmut Krätzl (* 1931), Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Vienna, was a pastor in Laa from 1964–1969
• Paul Löwinger (1904–1988), popular actor, born in Laa while passing through
• Michael Stavarič (* 1972), Austrian-Czech writer and translator; emigrated from the ČSSR to Laa in 1979
• Ernest Graf von Trautson (1633–1702), Bishop of Vienna, was lord of Laa / Thaya
• Johanna Mikl-Leitner (* 1964), Austrian politician (ÖVP), governor of Lower Austria and former interior minister - attended secondary school and commercial academy (Matura 1983) in Laa an der Thaya
• Anton Konrad Zippe (1889–1964), Austrian educator, politician, artist, and father of Gernot Zippe

literature

• Rudolf Fürnkranz: Princely city of Laa an der Thaya. 1800-2000. 200 years of success story. Edition Weinviertel, 2009, ISBN 978-3-902589-16-3 .
• Rudolf Fürnkranz: Princely city. Laa an der Thaya. From the beginnings to 1600. Edition Weinviertel, 2016, ISBN 978-3-902589-62-0 .
• Herbert Jaitner, Rudolf Fürnkranz: The old Laa an der Thaya and its cadastral communities in earlier times. Edition Winkler-Hermaden, 2017, ISBN 978-3-9504383-8-3 .

Web links

Commons : Laa an der Thaya  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• 31629 - Laa an der Thaya. Community data, Statistics Austria .
• Laa an der Thaya
• Jüdisches Laa an der Thaya , a page in memory of the Jews expelled from Laa

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
2. ^ Army History Museum / Military History Institute (HGM / MHI), Military History Research Department (MilFoA), study collection, inventory 1945, box 5, fasc. 45/9, municipality reports Lower Austria, District Mistelbach
3. ↑ Oleg Deripaska: The grandson of the tank driver's profile on June 23, 2007
4. ↑ Oligarch builds chapel in Weinviertel ORF NÖ on May 29, 2014
5. ↑ Laa / Thaya: Deripaska Church consecrated to ORF Lower Austria on September 30, 2018
6. ^ Result of the municipal council election in 1995 in Laa an der Thaya. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 30, 2000, accessed on March 19, 2020 . 
7. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2000 in Laa an der Thaya. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, February 4, 2005, accessed on March 19, 2020 . 
8. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2005 in Laa an der Thaya. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 4, 2005, accessed on March 19, 2020 . 
9. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2010 in Laa an der Thaya. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, October 8, 2010, accessed on March 19, 2020 . 
10. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2015 in Laa an der Thaya. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, December 1, 2015, accessed on March 19, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Results of the municipal council election 2020 in Laa an der Thaya. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, January 26, 2020, accessed on March 19, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Entry about Burg Laa on Lower Austria castles online - Institute for Reality Studies of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age, University of Salzburg
13. ↑ laa.at
14. ↑ noen.at
15. ↑ mein district.at
16. ↑ noe.orf.at
17. ↑ Laa an der Thaya bypass is open to traffic