Weißenkirchen in the Wachau

market community

coat of arms

Austria map

Basic data

Country:

Austria

State :

Lower Austria

Political District :

Krems-Land

License plate :

KR

Surface:

23.34 km²

Coordinates :

48 ° 24 ' N , 15 ° 28' E Coordinates: 48 ° 23 '52 " N , 15 ° 28' 12" E

Height :

224 m above sea level A.

Residents :

1,395 (January 1, 2020)

Population density :

60 inhabitants per km²

Postal code :

3610

Area code :

02715

Community code :

3 13 51

NUTS region

AT124

Address of the
municipal administration:

Rathausplatz 32
3610 Weißenkirchen in der Wachau

Website:

www.weissenkirchen-wachau.at

politics

Mayor :

Christian Geppner ( ÖVP )

Municipal Council : ( 2020 )
(19 members)

14th

4th

1

14th 4th 1

A total of 19 seats

ÖVP-WG : 14
SPÖ : 4
FPW : 1

Location of Weißenkirchen in the Wachau in the Krems-Land district

Weißenkirchen in the Wachau seen from the south

Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Weißenkirchen in der Wachau is a market town with 1,395 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Krems-Land district in Lower Austria .

geography

Geographical location

Weißenkirchen in der Wachau is located in the Waldviertel in Lower Austria. The area of the market town covers 23.28 square kilometers. 63.06% of the area is forested.

Community structure

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

Joching (150)
St. Michael (23)
Weißenkirchen in der Wachau (926) with shield huts and sieves
Wösendorf in the Wachau (296)

The community consists of the cadastral communities Joching, St. Michael, Weißenkirchen and Wösendorf.

Neighboring municipality

	Weinzierl
Spitz (Lower Austria)		Dürnstein
	Rossatz-Arnsdorf

history

Market Weißenkirchen 1701 on a painting in the Fürstengang Freising

Around 830 the left bank of the Danube from Weißenkirchen was first referred to as "Wahowa" (Wachau). As early as 1258, the place was referred to as the Liechtenchyrchen in a certificate from Albero von Kuenring . In Carolingian times, the Niederaltaich monastery is listed in a document from 830 as vineyard ownership in Weißenkirchen and Wösendorf. In 1070 Weißenkirchen is mentioned in a deed of donation to the Benedictine monastery Weihenstephan , possessions of the bishops of Freising . The Benedictine Abbey Michaelbeuern received vineyards in Weißenkirchen in 1138 through a donation from Countess Ita von Burghausen.

In the 12th to 14th centuries there are sparse records about Weißenkirchen. This is due to the fact that larger holdings of the Tegernsee Monastery in Weißenkirchen are usually mentioned under the name "Wachau District". The towns of St. Michael, Wösendorf, Joching and Weißenkirchen belong to this district. The Zwettl Monastery (1137), founded by Hadmar von Kuenring, has owned estates (vineyards) in Weißenkirchen and Wösendorf since at least 1256.

Leutold I. von Kuenring founded the Clarissa convent in Dürnstein in 1289. Vineyards in Weißenkirchen are mentioned in the deed of foundation. In 1325 the Kremsmünster monastery acquired vineyards in Weißenkirchen. In 1414 Hans von Neidegg founded the Pauline monastery Unterranna and transferred this vineyard property to Weißenkirchen.

Population development

According to the results of the 2001 census, there were 1,494 inhabitants. In the last few decades the population has steadily decreased.

politics

Image wanted

The municipal council has 19 members.

With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1990, the municipal council had the following distribution: 14 ÖVP and 5 SPÖ.

With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 1995, the municipal council had the following distribution: 14 ÖVP electoral community and 5 SPÖ.

With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2000, the municipal council had the following distribution: 12 ÖVP electoral community and 7 SPÖ.

With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria in 2005 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 13 ÖVP electoral community, 5 SPÖ and 1 FPÖ.

With the municipal elections in Lower Austria in 2010 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 13 ÖVP electoral community, 4 SPÖ and 2 FPÖ.

With the municipal elections in Lower Austria in 2015 , the municipal council had the following distribution: 11 ÖVP electoral community, 4 SPÖ and 4 FPW – FPÖ and non-party members for Weißenkirchen.

With the municipal council elections in Lower Austria 2020 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 14 ÖVP electoral community, 4 SPÖ and 1 FPW-FPÖ and non-party members for Weißenkirchen.

mayor

until 2015 Anton Bodenstein (ÖVP)
2015–2019 Hubert Trauner (ÖVP)
since 2019 Christian Geppner (ÖVP)

Culture and sights

Fortified church St. Michael , mother church of the Wachau

Parish church Weißenkirchen in the Wachau

Parish church Wösendorf

Image wanted

Catholic fortified church St. Michael : Two kilometers upstream, in the cadastral parish of St. Michael, is the fortified church of St. Michael from around 1500. The parish of St. Michael is still 500 years older and is considered the oldest parish in the Wachau.

Weissenkirchen Catholic Parish Church in the Wachau Assumption of Mary: The place is dominated by the mighty Gothic fortified church from the 14th century, which also gives it its name and whose stately tower was built in 1531 to protect against the Turks. The interior mixes late Gothic and Baroque.

Catholic parish church Wösendorf hl. Florian

Teisenhoferhof: Also worth seeing are the magnificent Teisenhoferhof, which was completed in the Renaissance in 1542 and is now the Wachau Museum, a branch of Lower Austria. State Museum , and the Wine Museum.

Salzstadeln: The three salt stalls on the Danube are from the 17th century, which in earlier times supplied the nearby northern Waldviertel with the “white gold” (= salt).

Gruberwarte

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

Taxi ferry near Weißenkirchen in the Wachau, shortly before landing in Weißenkirchen

In Weißenkirchen a taxi ferry crosses the Danube to St. Lorenz in the Wachau . It only runs in the summer season.

Established businesses

In 2001 there were 72 non-agricultural workplaces, agricultural and forestry operations 196 according to the 1999 survey. According to the 2001 census, the number of people in employment at the place of residence was 702. In 2001, the activity rate was 50.06%.

Viticulture

Weißenkirchen is one of the most important and important wine-growing locations in the Wachau north of the Danube. Mainly Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are grown . The Achleiten , Klaus and Steinriegl vineyards are among the best and most famous Riesling sites . The oldest of the documented vineyards (from the 13th century) is called Ritzling .

tourism

With over 14,000 tourists per year and around 40,900 overnight stays, tourism , as in the entire Wachau region , has become one of the most important economic sectors in Weißenkirchen. Associations of tourist businesses such as ARGE 100% Wachau serve to strengthen the region and the village of Weißenkirchen.

Flood protection

After Weißenkirchen, like many other towns , suffered devastating damage during the Danube flood in 2002 , it was decided to set up flood protection . But this had to be coordinated with the world natural heritage regulations. For this reason, a mobile solution was built over a length of over three kilometers. This protection, which can be set up within a few hours, is the largest in Austria at the time of construction and is intended to protect the site from a maximum level of eleven meters. It was completed in February 2010 at a cost of 27 million euros.

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the church

Eduard Gruber (* 1952), Catholic clergyman and vicar general of the diocese of St. Pölten
Josef Gruber (1855–1933) organist and composer born in Wösendorf
Roman Jäger (1909–1944), lawyer and politician
Herbert Koller (1911–1995), Manager and General Director of VÖEST

People related to the community

Cypriano Biasino (1580–1636), builder of the Baroque, renovation of St. Michael
Hermine Cloeter (1879–1970), writer and cultural historian, lived and died in Weißenkirchen in the Wachau
Ignaz Gatto the Elder (1708–1786), organ builder (St. Michael)
Barbara Kaudelka (* 1981), actress and speaker, grew up in Weißenkirchen in the Wachau
Eduard Peithner von Lichtenfels (1833–1913), painter and university professor, landscape painting around Weißenkirchen in the Wachau
Paul Peschke (sculptor) (1907–1991), sculptor, factory in St. Michael
Marcus Strahl (* 1968), director of the Wachaufestspiele in Weißenkirchen since 2005, medal of honor of the market community Weißenkirchen in silver (2018)