Leopoldschlag

Leopoldschlag is located at an altitude of 630 m in the northern Mühlviertel, on the main European watershed between the Elbe and the Danube. The extension is 8.3 km from north to south and 6.3 km from west to east.

European watershed between the Elbe and the Danube

The total area is 25.6 km² (7.1% of which is wooded and 17.6% is used for agriculture). A specialty in Stiegersdorf is the Tobau with 7 hectares , where peat is still extracted today.

Community structure

Mardetschlag district

Mill in Stiegersdorf

The municipality includes the following 11 localities (population in brackets as of January 1, 2020):

Leopoldschlag village (149)
Edlbruck (32)
Monkshood (32)
Hammers (23) including Geierhammer and Rößlhammer
Hiltschen (49)
Leitmannsdorf (24)
Mardetschlag (161)
Leopoldschlag Market (445)
Pramhof (16)
Stiegersdorf (11)
Wullowitz (59)

The community consists of the cadastral communities Hiltschen and Leopoldschlag.

Leopoldschlag belongs to the judicial district of Freistadt .

Neighboring communities

The municipality borders in the north on the Czech Republic (border crossing Wullowitz - Dolní Dvořiště ), in the east on the municipality Windhaag bei Freistadt (district Mairspindt), in the south on the municipality Rainbach im Mühlkreis (locality Kerschbaum ) and in the west on the Czech Republic ( Horní Dvořiště ).

	Dolní Dvořiště (CZ)
		Windhaag
Rainbach	Grünbach

history

Czech border

Etymology: The place name was formed from the Old High German / Middle High German slag . Slag means a piece of land cleared by cutting down trees with an ax. The personal name Leopold was added.

The first mention of the place comes from the year 1356 as Marchtt Leopoltzlag . At the beginning of the 15th century (1415-1434) the Hussites invaded and devastated the area several times. Since 1490 it has been assigned to the principality 'Austria ob der Enns'. In 1526 the church was built and in 1593 the coat of arms was awarded with the confirmation of market rights. The pillory on the market square should also come from this time.

In 1732 the place built the market fountain and around 1750 the Johannessäule on the market square. During the Napoleonic Wars , the place was occupied several times. In 1817 the grain pyramid was built in the hamlet of Hammern. In 1835 the tomb of the Arneth family was erected, a golden angel on the eastern outer wall of the church. From the Middle Ages to the 19th century there was a flood on the Maltsch , with it lumber was transported north towards Budweis and Prague.

The post office was established in 1867 and existed until 2003. The Leopoldschlag Gendarmerie Post was founded in 1876 and converted into a border police station in 2005 . The Raiffeisenkasse Leopoldschlag was founded around 1902. After the First World War , the customs house was built (1922) and the Dr. Gleißner School in the Wullowitz district. After Austria was annexed to the German Reich on March 13, 1938, the place belonged to the "Gau Oberdonau".

After the Second World War , the Leopoldschlag Water Cooperative was established in 1949/1950. In 1962 the church tower was blown up to expand the church. In 1969 the new elementary school was opened and from 1973 the local sewer system was built. The Maria Schnee church on Hiltschnerberg was built in 1983 and 1984 , as the pilgrimage church in Zettwing could no longer be reached due to the iron curtain. In 1986 the first permanent doctor came to Leopoldschlag. After the fall of the iron curtain (1989), the Grenzlandbühne opened (1998), the tourist border crossing in the Hammern district opened (2006) and the new sewage treatment plant was built (2006).

population

Population development
year	Residents	year	Residents
1869	1,380	1951	1,248
1880	1.317	1961	1,175
1890	1,299	1971	1,189
1900	1,309	1981	1.110
1910	1,267	1991	1,115
1923	1,298	2001	1,086
1934	1,212	2008	1,054
1939	1,135	2013	1,038

In 1869, 1380 people lived in the municipality, the highest level in history. By 1939 the population had dropped to 1135 people. After an interim high in 1951, the population has shrunk noticeably since then, which is probably due to the decentralized location. In 1991 the community had 1,115 inhabitants, at the 2001 census only 1,086, which corresponds to a decrease of 2.7%. On January 1st, 2008 the community had 1,054 inhabitants.

In the 2001 census, the proportion of residents who were 60 years of age and older was 20.4%; 20.8% were under 15 years old. The proportion of the female population was 49.4%.

Of the 860 residents of Leopoldschlag, who were over 15 years old in 2001, 2.2% had graduated from a university , technical college or academy . Another 4% had completed a Matura , 46.4% had completed an apprenticeship or a vocational middle school and 47.3% of all Leopoldschläger had compulsory school as the highest qualification.

Origin and language

The German dialect, which is commonly spoken in the Leopoldschlag area and in Upper Austria, is Middle Bavarian . In 2001, 95.9% of Leopoldschläger cited German as a colloquial language. Another 3.4% spoke mainly Turkish , 0.7% Czech , the rest spoke other languages.

The proportion of Leopoldschläger with foreign citizenship was 5.9% in 2001, below the average in Upper Austria. 3.4% of the Leopoldschläger population were citizens of Turkey , 1.3% were citizens of Germany and 1.2% were other citizens. In 2001, around 6.9% of Leopoldschläger were born in a country other than Austria.

coat of arms

The municipal coat of arms is split lengthways. Heraldically on the left is a silver bar in red, which shows that it belongs to the Free City area. Heraldically to the right is a brown-stemmed, green-leafed linden tree in gold on a green three-mountain, on which a black, erect bear with a red tongue is trying to climb. This points to the legend of the origin of the place name. According to the legend, Leopold and his friend were hunting, when they were chased by the bears they climbed the tree! The bear wanted to climb up, but when his paw came threateningly close, Leopold's friend yelled: "Leopold strike!" So Leopold cut off the bear's paw and the place had a name.

The municipal coat of arms was awarded on October 21, 1593, at the same time as the market rights were confirmed.

politics

Image wanted

The municipal council has 13 members.

With the municipal council and mayoral elections in Upper Austria in 2003, the municipal council had the following distribution: 9 ÖVP, 3 SPÖ, and 1 FPÖ.
With the municipal council and mayoral elections in Upper Austria in 2009, the municipal council had the following distribution: 9 ÖVP, 2 SPÖ, 1 FPÖ, and 1 GRÜNE.
With the municipal council and mayoral elections in Upper Austria in 2015 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 8 ÖVP, 3 FPÖ, 1 SPÖ, and 1 GRÜNE.

mayor

until 2008 Alois Böhm (ÖVP)
since 2008 Hubert Koller (ÖVP)

Culture and sights

Parish church Leopoldschlag

Maria Schnee on Hiltschnerberg

Catholic parish church Leopoldschlag hl. George
Catholic pilgrimage church Maria Schnee am Hiltschnerberg : built on the basis of the iron curtain
Fountain on the Continental Divide: A hydrographic monument
Grain pyramid: Granite pyramid, supported on 4 granite balls on the base with an iron cross
Market square: With pillory, fountain and monuments from the period 1500 to 1750
Remains of a bridge of the Budweis – Linz – Gmunden horse-drawn railway

Museums

Hafnerhaus: shows old pottery art
Customs guard hut: It was built in 2007 to commemorate the many former customs guard departments at the border. According to the operator, it is one of the smallest museums in the world and the only museum in Austria that deals with the subject of the “customs guard”. It is located directly on the Czech border in the Hammern district.

Music and stage

Two music associations are based in Leopoldschlag: MV Leopoldschlag and MV Mardetschlag.
Plays are performed annually in the Grenzlandbühne.

Natural monuments

There is a large area along the Maltsch, which is part of the “ Natura 2000 ” European protection area through the “ Green Belt Europe ” nature conservation initiative .

Martinstein

Sacrificial stone

economy

In the Hiltschen district there is a 24,000 m² INKOBA company building area.

Sports

The Austrian Gymnastics and Sports Union Leopoldschlag offers a range of four sections: football, curling, tennis and skiing.
In addition, a cycling team called “Al Carbon” has been formed.

traffic

Road: The Mühlviertler Straße (B 310) leads through the municipality and ends here at the former border crossing at Wullowitz. In future, the Mühlviertel expressway (S 10) will also run through the municipality.

education

A kindergarten and a primary school are available in the village . There is also a library .

safety

There are four volunteer fire brigades in the municipality : FF Leopoldschlag, FF Mardetschlag, FF Dorf Leopoldschlag and FF Wullowitz.

Personalities

Joseph von Arneth (* 1791; † 1863), Austrian archaeologist
Josef Beyerl (* 1898; † 1934), victim of National Socialism
Alois Wagner (* 1924; † 2002), Archbishop of the Curia
Josef Knoll (* 1926; † 2013), politician and state official
Leopold Pammer (* 1951; † 2011), teacher, theater player and author

literature

Historical bibliography in the forum OoeGeschichte.at

Web links

Commons : Leopoldschlag - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Official community website
FF Leopoldschlag website
Website of the Grenzlandbühne Leopoldschlag
Further information about the municipality of Leopoldschlag can be found on the geographic information system of the federal state of Upper Austria .

Individual evidence

↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
↑ ^a ^b Statistics Austria: Population and components of population development (download as pdf; 34 kB)
↑ ^a ^b 2001 population census: Demographic data (download as pdf; 10 kB)
↑ 2001 census: resident population (download as pdf; 10 kB)
^ Province of Upper Austria, regional history: coat of arms of the municipality of Leopoldschlag (accessed on October 28, 2008)

[Metadaten_Einwohnerzahl_AT_Ortschaft_QUELLE-1] Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )

[Bev_Gemeinde-2] Statistics Austria: Population and components of population development (download as pdf; 34 kB)

[Volkszählung_2001-3] 2001 population census: Demographic data (download as pdf; 10 kB)

[4] 2001 census: resident population (download as pdf; 10 kB)

[5] Province of Upper Austria, regional history: coat of arms of the municipality of Leopoldschlag (accessed on October 28, 2008)