Kirchberg an der Raab

Kirchberg an der Raab
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Styria
Political District :	Southeast Styria
License plate :	SO (from 1.7.2013; old: FB)
Surface:	43.9 km²
Coordinates :	46 ° 59 '  N , 15 ° 46'  E Coordinates: 46 ° 59 '14 "  N , 15 ° 45' 49"  E
Height :	370  m above sea level A.
Residents :	4,567 (Jan 1, 2020)
Postcodes :	8324, 8082, 8322, 8323, 8332, 8341
Area code :	+43 3115
Community code :	6 23 82
Address of the municipal administration:	Kirchberg an der Raab 212 8324 Kirchberg an der Raab
Website:	www.kirchberg-raab.gv.at
politics
Mayor :	Helmut Ofner ( ÖVP )
Municipal Council : (2015) (21 members)	16 3 2 16 3 2  A total of 21 seats ÖVP : 16 SPÖ : 3 FPÖ : 2
Location of Kirchberg an der Raab in the district of Southeast Styria
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Kirchberg an der Raab is a municipality with 4567 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in Eastern Styria , about ten kilometers west of the district capital Feldbach . As part of the municipal structural reform in Styria , the municipality has been merged with the municipalities of Fladnitz im Raabtal , Oberdorf am Hochegg and Studenzen since 2015 ; the new municipality continues the name Kirchberg an der Raab. The basis for this is the Styrian Municipal Structural Reform Act - StGsrG. At the same time, Kirchberg was expanded to include part of the Oberstorcha cadastral community in the Oberstorcha community.

geography

Geographical location

Kirchberg is on the upper reaches of the Raab , where the Raab makes its "knee" to the east. The place and the church are on a hill, which towers over the valley by 70 m, southwest of the river. The municipal area extends south of the Raab on the hills of the Eastern Styrian hill country, where the districts of Wörth and Hof are located. A little further down the Raab lies the village of Berndorf .

Community structure

The municipality includes eleven localities (population as of January 1, 2020):

• Berndorf (416)
• Fladnitz im Raabtal (801)
• Courtyard (241)
• Kirchberg an der Raab (993)
• Oberdorf am Hochegg (458)
• Oberstorcha (151)
• Radersdorf (179)
• Siegersdorf (231)
• Studenzen (467)
• Tiefernitz (107)
• Wörth near Kirchberg an der Raab (523)

The community consists of eight cadastral communities (area 2016):

• Fladnitz im Raabtal (630.30 ha)
• Kirchberg an der Raab (786.03 ha)
• Oberdorf (604.79 ha)
• Oberstorcha (227.73 ha)
• Radersdorf (311.00 ha)
• Studenzen (589.48 ha)
• Tiefernitz (344.55 ha)
• Wörth (885.01 ha)

Incorporations

On January 1, 1968, the municipality of Wörth near Kirchberg an der Raab was merged with Kirchberg an der Raab.

Neighboring communities

Sankt Marein bei Graz Bez. Graz area	Sankt Margarethen an der Raab Bez. Weiz	Eichkögl
Kirchbach-Zerlach		Edelsbach near Feldbach
Sankt Stefan im Rosental	Paldau	Feldbach

history

A first settlement of the Kirchberg can be proven by finds as far back as the Neolithic Age . There are also burial mounds from the older Iron Age , which were either built by the Celts or the Norikers .

The first written mention of the place comes from 1265, as well as the parish church of St. Florian. A deed of foundation for a "free Kirchberg estate" dates from 1394, but does not name any owner. In the 15th century the noble family is those of Steinpeiß ( Steinpeiss of that noble family), late 16th century Zöbinger ( Zöbing ) as the owner is known. Since the Zöbinger had financial problems in 1634 and 1669, the property was returned in two parts to the Steinpeisser with the owners Siegmund and Georg Christof von Steinpeiß .

In 1696, Count Sigbert von Heister acquired the rule and built the Unterkirchberg Castle and numerous ponds at the northern foot of the hill. In 1821 Prince Johann Josef Liechtenstein bought the castle and the possessions, which he ruled until 1848. After that, the place developed as an independent municipality. The castle building changed hands several times and is now owned by Marie Therese Herberstein , from the former noble family.

At the end of the Second World War , the positions in the Raab Valley formed an essential barrier against the advancing Red Army .

Population development

Culture and sights

Schloss Kirchberg an der Raab, signed. v. Kuwasseg, 1830

Parish church Kirchberg an der Raab

See also:  List of listed objects in Kirchberg an der Raab

• Kirchberg an der Raab Castle: The castle was built from 1704 and provided with numerous frescoes and stucco .
• The parish church of Kirchberg an der Raab hl. Florian was initially a Romanesque building (before 1265) and was replaced by a late Gothic new building from 1510 to 1526 . This later underwent numerous baroque extensions and alterations. The church is characterized by late baroque furnishings . In the tower is one of the oldest bells in Styria, which was cast by Hans Mitter in Judenburg in 1457 . During renovation work in the 1970s, instead of the "XII" ("12"), an "XIII" was mistakenly attached to the dial. Around the church you can see the remains of the Tabor , which mainly date from the time of the Turkish invasions in the 15th century. During renovation work was an ossuary ( charnel house , mortuary) rediscovered in which the bones were found about 500 people. It is said to be the skeletons of evicted Protestants from the year 1600. The death chamber was only opened briefly in 2013 and should then be closed forever.

economy

Kirchberg an der Raab shows economic focuses in the areas of woodworking, metal construction, fish farming, agriculture and tourism.

politics

Municipal council

The council has been extended due to the municipality merger in 2015 from 15 to 21 members and, according to the results of the local elections in 2015 from mandatories following parties:

• 16 ÖVP
• 3 SPÖ
• 2 FPÖ

The last municipal council elections brought the following results:

Political party	2015			2010
	Large community			Kirchberg			Fladnitz			Oberdorf			Studenzen
	be right	%	Mandates	St.	%	M.	St.	%	M.	St.	%	M.	St.	%	M.
ÖVP	2091	71	16	1121	77	12	377	71	7th	205	35	3	316	61	6th
SPÖ	0403	14th	03	0175	12	02	154	29	2	376	65	6th	152	29	3
FPÖ	0364	12	02	0153	11	01	not running						050	10	0
The green	0105	04th	00	not running
Eligible voters	3,732			1,669			614			635			573
voter turnout	80%			87%			88%			94%			92%

mayor

• Helmut Ofner (ÖVP)

coat of arms

• Coats of arms of the previous municipalities
• 

  Fladnitz in the Raab Valley

• 

  Oberdorf am Hochegg

• 

  Oberstorcha

• 

  Studenzen

All previous municipalities had a municipal coat of arms. Due to the amalgamation of municipalities, these lost their official validity on January 1st, 2015. The new municipal coat of arms for the merged municipality took effect on November 30, 2017.

Blazon (Coat of Arms description): In silver, besätem with eight red roses sign a black panther, growing red, occupied with a stepped pyramid of three hewn stones silver mountain. The municipal coat of arms, awarded in 1958, is described in the certificate as follows: In the red shield with a blue shield base, a gold church on the same-colored Dreiberg.

Sons and daughters of the church

• Harald Sükar (* 1963): Austrian lawyer, former president of the GAK football club
• Sebastian Prödl (* 1987), Austrian footballer
• Lorenz Maierhofer (* 1956), Austrian composer, lyricist and author
• Count Sigbert von Heister (1646–1718), Austrian field marshal, general in the Turkish wars under Prince Eugene of Savoy
• Michelle Luttenberger ( Luttenberger-Klug ) (* 1990), Austrian singer, Amadeus winner

Web links

Commons : Kirchberg an der Raab  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• 62382 - Kirchberg an der Raab. Community data, Statistics Austria .
• Website of the Kirchberg an der Raab community

Individual evidence

1. ^ Styrian municipal structural reform .
2. ↑ Section 3, Paragraph 9, Item 2 of the Act of December 17, 2013 on the reorganization of the municipalities of the State of Styria ( Styrian Municipal Reform Act - StGsrG). Provincial Law Gazette for Styria of April 2, 2014. No. 31, year 2014. ZDB -ID 705127-x . P. 3.
3. ↑ Section 5, Paragraph 4, Item 1 of the Styrian Municipal Structural Reform Act - StGsrG. P. 5.
4. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
5. ↑ Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying, Regional Information, reference date December 31, 2016, accessed on February 19, 2017
6. ↑ Statistics Austria: dissolutions or associations of municipalities from 1945
7. ^ A scary world under the church on ORF from April 1, 2013, accessed on April 2, 2013.
8. ↑ 100. Announcement of the Styrian state government of November 23, 2017 on the granting of the right to use a municipal coat of arms to the municipality of Kirchberg an der Raab (political district of Southeast Styria) , accessed on November 29, 2017