Pitten

This article describes the place Pitten. For the river, see Pitten (river) , for the historical dominion, see Grafschaft Pitten .

market community Pitten
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Lower Austria
Political District :	Neunkirchen
License plate :	NK
Surface:	13.09 km²
Coordinates :	47 ° 43 '  N , 16 ° 11'  E Coordinates: 47 ° 42 '58 "  N , 16 ° 11' 11"  E
Height :	376  m above sea level A.
Residents :	2,870 (January 1, 2020)
Population density :	219 inhabitants per km²
Postcodes :	2822, 2823
Area code :	02627
Community code :	3 18 23
Address of the municipal administration:	Wiener Neustädterstrasse 24 2823 Pitten
Website:	www.pitten.gv.at
politics
Mayor :	Helmut Berger ( SPÖ )
Municipal Council : ( 2020 ) (21 members)	11 5 3 2 11 5 3 2  A total of 21 seats SPÖ : 11 ÖVP : 5 BF : 3 GREEN : 2
Location of Pitten in the Neunkirchen district
Pitten: castle and mountain church
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Pitten ( capital of a market town ) locality ( main town of the municipality ) cadastral municipality Pitten
Basic data
Pole. District , state	Neunkirchen  (NK), Lower Austria
Judicial district	Neunkirchen
Pole. local community	Pitten
Coordinates	47 ° 42 ′ 58 "  N , 16 ° 11 ′ 11"  E
height	376  m above sea level A.
Residents of the village	2133 (January 1, 2020)
Building status	657 (2001 )
Area  d. KG	5.94 km²
Post Code	2823
Statistical identification
Locality code	05247
Cadastral parish number	23327
Counting district / district	Pitten-East / Pitten-West (31823 000/001)
Source: STAT : index of places ; BEV : GEONAM ; NÖGIS

Pitten in an engraving from 1882

The mountain church of St. Georg and its rock chapel is the landmark of Pitten that can be seen from afar

Birdhouse-like fantasy houses and memorial at the entrance to the mountain church

Pitten Castle

Entrance to the Georgi gallery

Pitten is a market town with 2870 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Neunkirchen district in Lower Austria .

geography

Pitten is located in the northern part of the Bucklige Welt and is eponymous for valley (Pittental) and river ( Pitten ). A few kilometers north of Pitten, the Pitten emerges into the stone field and unites with the Schwarza to form Leitha . Pitten originally gave the whole region its name, as the Bucklige Welt was called "Pittener Waldmark" until the 19th century (historically, a county of Pitten is also often spoken of). The area of ​​today's market town covers 13.08 square kilometers. 53.75 percent of the area is forested.

Community structure

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

• Inzenhof (70)
• Suffering (178)
• Pitten (2133)
• Sautern (485)
• Vineyard (4)

The community consists of the cadastral communities Inzenhof, Leiding, Pitten and Sautern.

Neighboring communities

Schwarzau am Steinfeld	Bad Erlach
Seebenstein		Bad Erlach
	Scheiblingkirchen-Thernberg

history

Unique finds from the Middle Bronze Age, which are around 3,500 years old, prove the early settlement of Pitten. Pitten was first mentioned in a document in 869 when the property of the nun Peretcunda was donated to the Hochstift Freising .

Archbishop Konrad von Salzburg made the parish duty to pay a tenth to the Reichersberg monastery in 1144. In 1456 the parish of Pitten was finally incorporated into the Reichersberg monastery. Since that time Augustinian canons from Reichersberg have been working as pastors in Pitten.

Pitten has always been old historical ground. Until the beginning of the 16th century, the county of Pitten - this included the Neunkirchen district , the eastern part of the Wiener Neustadt-Land district and part of the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district - was part of Styria . In the dialect of the population in the Bucklige Welt, this is still partly noticeable today.

The name Pitten was officially set in 1855 because it was subject to constant change. From ad Putinnu , around 1144 parrochia Putina , 1180/90 Butinna , "Putina urbs" around 1205 and in the 18th century the spelling changed between Pütten and Pitten . The shape on which the name is based goes back to the Slavic Buda (corresponds to reeds , reed grass), which gives an indication of the marshy valley floor in this area at that time .

In the 18th century iron ore began to be mined in Pitten , which was characterized by its high purity and high manganese content . From 1789 the ore was also smelted in the village. At the beginning of the 19th century, pig iron production was increased to 300 to 400 quintals per week; processing took place in a foundry also located in the village. After a change of ownership, the raw and cast iron was processed in the new owner's rolling mill in Lilienfeld .

Pitten (top center) around 1880 (record sheet of the land survey )

In 1828, shortly before his death , Vinzenz Sterz established the Pitten paper factory S. & Co. , better known under the name kk priv. Pitten paper factory, in a former grinding and sawmill . The state privilege came from the fact that Vinzenz Sterz had built the Habsburg Monarchy's first functioning paper machine as early as 1819 and had been given the privilege to use it for ten years. In 1853, Wilhelm Hamburger (* 1821 in Blumenfeld , Grand Duchy of Baden , † 1904 in Pitten) produced wood pulp paper for the first time and thus initiated industrial paper production from wood in Austria.

From the middle of the 19th century, mining and smelting ran into more and more difficulties. A brief renewed upswing from 1866, which also led to expansion and modernization of the company, was followed by bankruptcy in 1879. It was possible to resume mining and smelting; After last attempts in World War II, operations were finally stopped in 1945.

In 1881 Pitten was connected to the railway network by the Aspangbahn , which benefited Pitten enormously both economically and in terms of tourism.

Incorporations

On January 1, 1967, the municipality of Sautern was incorporated into Pitten, followed by the municipality of Leiding-Inzenhof on January 1, 1971.

Population development

Since the first census in 1869, which counted 1,572 inhabitants, the population has increased steadily and reached a first high in 1934 with 2,577 inhabitants. After a decline until 1939, the number of inhabitants reached its highest level in 1951 with 2,692 inhabitants. Since then, there has been a general downward trend (even if the decrease was interrupted by individual decades with a slight increase), so that in the last census in 2001 the number of inhabitants 2,473 was. The slight increase of 13 people compared to 1991 is due to immigration (+40), which offset the negative birth balance (−27).

Spread across the area of ​​the municipality, 189 inhabitants live per square kilometer.

Religions

The largest religious community is the Roman Catholic Church , to which 80.8 percent of the population profess, followed by the Evangelical Church (3.0 percent) and Islam (2.7 percent). Other religious communities remain well below one percent. 10.1 percent of the population have no religious beliefs.

politics

The municipal council has 21 members.

• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1990, the municipal council had the following distribution: 12 SPÖ, 6 ÖVP, 2 Greens, and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal elections in Lower Austria in 1995, the municipal council had the following distribution: 13 SPÖ, 6 ÖVP, 1 Greens, and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2000, the municipal council had the following distribution: 12 SPÖ, 5 ÖVP, 2 citizens' lists Pitten, 1 FPÖ, and 1 Greens.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2005 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 13 SPÖ, 7 ÖVP, and 1 Greens.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria 2010 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 12 SPÖ, 4 ÖVP, 3 citizens' forum Pitten, and 2 Greens.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2015 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 11 SPÖ, 6 ÖVP, 2 Greens, 1 citizens' forum Pitten, and 1 FPÖ.
• With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria 2020 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 11 SPÖ, 5 ÖVP, 3 citizens' forum Pitten and 2 Greens.

mayor

from	to	mayor		from	to	mayor		Mayor Helmut Berger
1855	1864	Georg Aichinger		1929	1934	Georg Mitterecker
1864	1869	Johann Glöckler		1934	1938	Rudolf Manhalter
1870	1873	Alois Glöckler		1938	1945	Hans Schulz
1973	1876	Franz Güdl		1945	1946	Richard Leer
1876	1889	Anton Trampitsch		1946	1950	Hans Kernbeis
1889	1906	Karl Manhalter		1950	1953	Georg Mitterecker
1906	1919	Josef Glöckler		1953	1960	Leopold Höller
1920		Franz Baumgartner		1961		Josef Fasching
1920	1921	Ignaz Endlweber		1962	2005	Kurt Schagerer (SPÖ)
1921	1926	Theodor Blahut		2005	2015	Günter Moraw (SPÖ)
1926	1929	Julius Bauer		since 2015		Helmut Berger (SPÖ)

economy

The paper mill of W. Hamburger GmbH, which was founded in 1853, is located in Pitten . W. Hamburger is part of the Hamburger Containerboard division of the Austrian Prinzhorn Group .

Culture and sights

The listed rectory from the 17th century

Fresco hall in the rectory

The local chapel of St. Laurentius in the cadastral community of Sautern

See also:  List of listed objects in Pitten

• The parish church of Pitten zum Hl. Georg ("mountain church") nestles close to the rock halfway up the castle hill, at the height of which the castle is enthroned. It is very likely that this is the third sacred building in roughly the same place. The bell tower's bell room still has a Gothic ribbed vault. Otherwise the church and all of its furnishings belong to the baroque era . In the tower there is a medieval bell chair made of larch wood, which has been carrying four new bells since 2011 after a restoration. The big bell of the earlier steel bells from 1922 has been hanging in a bell carrier in front of the church since then. Together with the four new bells, this results in a 5-part ringing, which, as before, is characterized by the characteristic sound of the big bell. - In the bell bearer in front of the church there is also a carillon, which was purchased in 1969 for the 1100th anniversary of Pitten. - The churchyard with the bell bearer offers a view of the entire village and a panorama from Seebenstein Castle over the Wechsel , Semmering and Schneeberg to the Hohe Wand . Furthermore, the churchyard contains a memorial for the warring Pitten dead of the First World War, as well as several birdhouse-like fantasy houses designed by the artist couple Pawel and Monika Stawoski.
• A rock cave behind the parish church was probably the first Christian place of worship in southern Lower Austria . During the Middle Ages , the room was decorated with murals several times . The cave was later used as a hermitage and barn .
• The rectory from the 17th century, with its arcades and richly stuccoed facades, is one of the most beautiful in Austria. The ballroom and library are decorated with wonderful frescoes and stucco .
• Parish church of Saint Martin: Because of the difficult path to the parish church, especially in winter, the baroque parish chapel was extended by an annex in 1948. The tower has had three bells since 2013, which are coordinated with the peal of the mountain church.
• The castle Pitten has medieval remains and a 140 m deep wells boast. It is mentioned in the "Lament" of the Nibelungenlied and withstood two attacks by the Turks. The " Pitten Corvinus Cup ", given by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus to the defender Knight Wolf Teufel as a sign of respect, reminds of a four-year siege by Corvinus. In 1884 Otto Hieser transformed the castle into a hunting lodge .
• Graves from the Bronze Age , with rich additions made of bronze jewelry.
• Slavic burial ground from the early 9th century.
• Avenues, parks and hiking trails (nature trail)
• The Pittentaler cycle path
• The rose garden in front of the rectory, built in 2008

In addition to the lively cultural activities of several local associations, the periodic events of the "Pitten Classics" and earlier also "loftlinx" attract a national audience:

• The Pitten Classics is a classical music festival founded in 1990 under the artistic direction of David Neiweem ( Vermont , USA ). In 2017 the Austrian cellist Florian Eggner took over the management of Pitten Classics with a program ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to New Music and Jazz . Mainly in the Bergkirche in July 2017 there were ten concerts among others by the Arnold Schoenberg Choir under Erwin Ortner , Benjamin Schmid , Ariane Haering, Wolfgang Muthspiel and the Eggner Trio .
• "Loftlinx" was a recurring exhibition event that took place every two years from 2001 to 2007 in late summer in the Wüster Kunsthallen in the ambience of an old factory. Visual artists presented their works (painting, photography, sculptures and performance) on an exhibition area of ​​around 2,500 square meters. This exhibition was initiated by an event, most recently with around 500 visitors, at which musical accents were also set and which only ended as a big party at dawn. Since 2009 this event has had to be canceled due to the poor structural condition of the abandoned factory site and therefore not granted official permits, a demolition of the old factory hall is in the room.

Personalities

• Anton Stingl (1808–1895), piano maker
• Wilhelm Hamburger (1821–1904), founder of industrial paper production from wood in Austria
• Vinzenz Sterz (? –1928), founder of the kk priv. Pitten paper mill
• Franz Hilarius Ascher (1852–1929), journalist and entrepreneur
• Franz Hamburger (1874–1954), physician, professor of paediatrics in Graz and Vienna
• Friedrich Hoffmann (1902–1976), politician
• Max Bulla (1905–1990), racing cyclist
• Sepp Buchner (1921–2000), Austrian painter and graphic artist
• Peter Weck (* 1930), stage and film actor and grandson of Mayor Hans Schulz
• Peter Fröhlich , alias Peter Fritsch (1938–2016), stage and film actor ( Kaisermühlen Blues ), singer
• Michael Glawogger (1959–2014), documentary filmmaker, film director, screenwriter and cameraman
• Wolfgang Murnberger (* 1960), film director and screenwriter
• Wolfgang Werner (* 1963), former director and founder of the St. Margarethen Opera Festival in the Roman quarry
• Paul Harather (* 1965), film director, producer and screenwriter
• Christian Fuchs (* 1986), national soccer player

Web links

Commons : Pitten  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the market town of Pitten
• 31823 - Pitten. Community data, Statistics Austria .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
2. ↑ Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950. Vol. 13 (Lfg. 60, 2008), pp. 240f
3. ^ Wilhelm Hamburger sen. In: Zentralblatt for the Austro-Hungarian paper industry . Volume 22.1904. Papierfachliteraturverlag, Vienna 1904, ZDB -ID 2343894-0 , p. 768.
4. ↑ Montanhistorik.de: Erik Nowak: Der Eisenabbau in Pitten (accessed October 4, 2017)
5. ^ Result of the municipal council election 1995 in Pitten. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 30, 2000, accessed on October 1, 2019 . 
6. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2000 in Pitten. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, February 4, 2005, accessed on October 1, 2019 . 
7. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2005 in Pitten. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, March 4, 2005, accessed on October 1, 2019 . 
8. ^ Election result of the municipal council election 2010 in Pitten. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, October 8, 2010, accessed on October 1, 2019 . 
9. ^ Election results for the 2015 municipal council elections in Pitten. Office of the Lower Austrian state government, December 1, 2015, accessed on October 1, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Results of the municipal council election 2020 in Pitten. Office of the Lower Austrian State Government, January 26, 2020, accessed on January 26, 2020 . 

Remarks

1. ↑ In 1869 the writer Ferdinand Kürnberger (1821–1879) was surprised that the lively and industrially active valley of the Pitten had not long since owned a railroad ( even if it were just a horse-drawn tram ) to Wiener Neustadt . With a two-hour drive from Vienna to Pitten, around a hundred more Viennese families would conquer a summer province. - See: Ferdinand Kürnberger:  Feuilleton. A forgotten corner. In:  Die Presse , No. 172/1869 (XXII. Year), June 23, 1869, p. 1 f. (Online at ANNO ). .