Steyr
Steyr
Steia | ||
---|---|---|
Postal code 4400 | ||
Area code | 07252 | |
Vehicle registration | SR | |
Website | www.steyr.at |
Steyr (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɐ] ⓘ; Central Bavarian: Steia) is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd largest city in Upper Austria.
The city has a long history as a manufacturing center and has given its name to several manufacturers headquartered there, such as the former Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate and its successor Steyr Motors.
Geography
The city is situated in the Traunviertel region, with the two rivers Steyr and Enns flowing through it and meeting near the town centre beneath Lamberg Castle and St Michael's Church. This prominent location has made it prone to severe flooding through the centuries until the present, one of the worst cases being recently in August 2002. To the south of the town rises a series of hills that climb in altitude and stretch out to the Upper Austrian Prealps. To the north, the hills roll downward towards the confluence of the Enns with the Danube River, where the town of Enns is situated. In the east, the municipal area borders with Lower Austria.
Steyr is an ancient town with modern amenities, marketing its rich cultural and architectural heritage in tourism like Vienna and many other well preserved Austrian historic towns. It marked its 1,000th anniversary in 1980, after undergoing extensive restoration of its historic architecture which has made it one of the best preserved old towns in the country. The famous historic town centre built around the Stadtplatz (town square) was largely restored following World War II. Its best-known piece of architecture is called the Bummerlhaus which is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture for its size in Central Europe.
The city comprises the cadastral communities of Christkindl, Föhrenschacherl, Gleink, Hinterberg, Jägerberg, Sarning, Stein, and Steyr.
History
Celts settled the area from about 600 BC, the name of the Stiria River is of Celtic origin. Their kingdom of Noricum became part of the Roman Empire in 15 BC. A settlement named Gesodunum noted by the ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy (c. 90 – c. 168) was possibly located in the Steyr region. Here the Roman "Iron Road" led from the Erzberg mine along the Enns River to the castra of Lauriacum (at present-day Enns) on the Danube.
In the 6th century, Slavic settlers moved into the area, but when they were defeated by Duke
In 1180, Emperor
Steyr, already named a
In the 13th and 14th century, Steyr was a centre of the Christian
The economic situation changed for the worse, as the iron trade decayed during the
In 1830 the blacksmith Leopold Werndl founded an armory at Steyr, which his sons Josef and Franz Werndl re-established as a stock company in 1864, named the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft (ÖWG) from 1869. Including the Steyr automobile branch from 1915 it was renamed Steyr-Werke AG in 1926 and formed a large industrial conglomerate by the merger with Austro-Daimler and Puch in 1934. However, the Steyr industry was hit hard by the 1929 Great Depression.
In 1934, the town became one of several battlegrounds between Social Democratic
The Nazi authorities incorporated the armament industry into the vast
The city was a meeting point on 9 May 1945, when units of the
Population
Largest groups of foreign residents | |
Nationality | Population (2014) |
---|---|
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,524 |
Turkey | 879 |
Germany | 580 |
Croatia | 385 |
Slovakia | 334 |
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1869 | 16,593 | — |
1880 | 21,054 | +26.9% |
1890 | 26,139 | +24.2% |
1900 | 22,272 | −14.8% |
1910 | 22,205 | −0.3% |
1923 | 27,200 | +22.5% |
1934 | 25,351 | −6.8% |
1939 | 31,017 | +22.4% |
1951 | 36,818 | +18.7% |
1961 | 38,306 | +4.0% |
1971 | 40,822 | +6.6% |
1981 | 38,942 | −4.6% |
1991 | 39,337 | +1.0% |
2001 | 39,340 | +0.0% |
2011 | 38,313 | −2.6% |
2014 | 38,273 | −0.1% |
Local council
The local council (Gemeinderat) has 36 members. Elections in 2015 showed the following results:
- SPÖ 16 seats
- FPÖ 10 seats
- ÖVP 5 seats
- The Greens - The Green Alternative 4 seats
- NEOS 1 seat[3]
Economy
The most heavily represented sector is the manufacturing automotive parts. The most significant companies in Steyr are:
- BMW Motors
- GFM Steyr GmbH
- MAN
- NKE AUSTRIA GmbH
- Profactor
- SKF
- Steyr Motors
- ZF Steyr
In other sectors are also important Austrian companies in Steyr:
- Eckelt Glass GmbH
- Hartlauer
- Steyr-Mannlicher
Infrastructure
Health systems
The Pyhrn-Eisenwurzen Klinikum Steyr is the general hospital of the city and the largest health care provider in the region with a capacity of 621 beds. It is also a teaching hospital affiliated with the medical universities of Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck.[4]
The Steyr School of General Health and Nursing offers a degree in nursing science and training to become a certified nurse. The oldest part is the 1916 castle-like old building. The hospital has been continually expanded since 1935.[citation needed]
Energy
Steyr has a district heating system which supplies the bulk of the buildings and industry with renewable energy. The thermal energy comes from the Steyr biomass heating plant.[5]
Sport
The local professional football team is SK Vorwärts Steyr who play at the Vorwärts Stadium.
Notable people
Steyr has had a number of well-known residents or visitors, including Franz Schubert (1797–1828), who wrote his Trout Quintet there while on holiday in 1819, and composer Anton Bruckner (1824–1896), organist at the local parish church. Young Adolf Hitler spent a brief period there while he attended the Steyr secondary school in 1904, living in a room on Grünmarkt. The school is located in the same building as the famous Saint Michael's Church. Further notable natives of Steyr are:
- Johannes Stabius (c. 1460–1522), cartographer
- lutenist active in the Bavariancourt
- Johann Michael Vogl (1768–1840), baritone singer and composer; close friend of Franz Schubert
- Johann Mayrhofer (1787–1836), poet and librettist; close friend of Franz Schubert.
- Ferdinand Redtenbacher (1809–1863), engineer, founded science-based mechanical engineering.
- Josef Werndl (1831–1889), arms producer, engineer and inventor
- Franz Wickhoff (1853–1909) was an Austrian art historian and a member of the Vienna School of Art History.[6]
- Ignaz Trollmann (1860-1919), general in the Austro-Hungarian Army
- Michael Blümelhuber (1865–1936), metalcutter
- Erling Poppe (1898–1970), motor vehicle designer, raised in England, who studied engineering in Birmingham
- Robert Scholz (1902–1986), American pianist, conductor, composer and teacher who worked in Taiwan.
- August Eigruber (1907–1947), Nazi Gauleiter hanged for war crimes
- Franz Schausberger (born 1950), politician (ÖVP) & governor of Salzburg, 1996 to 2004
- Erich Hackl (born 1954), novelist and short story writer.
- Wilhelm Molterer (born 1955), politician
- Gabriel Felbermayr (born 1976) a distinguished Austrian economist
Sport
- Helmut Köglberger (1946-2018), footballer, played over 440 games and 28 for Austria
- Hannes Trinkl (born 1968), former alpine skier and bronze medallist at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
- Ronald Brunmayr (born 1975), football player, played over 470 games and 8 for Austria
- Georg Harding (born 1981), football player, played over 260 games
- Thomas Fröschl (born 1988), footballer who has played over 380 games
- Emanuel Schreiner (born 1989), football player, played over 330 games
- Kristijan Dobras (born 1992), footballer who has played over 240 games
- Kevin Stöger (born 1993), football player, played over 260 games
International relations
Steyr is
- Bethlehem, Palestine
- Kettering, USA
- Plauen, Germany
- San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
References
- ^ "Dauersiedlungsraum der Gemeinden Politischen Bezirke und Bundesländer - Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Einwohnerzahl 1.1.2018 nach Gemeinden mit Status, Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Mitglieder des Gemeinderats
- ^ "Kurzinfo". Pyhrn-Eisenwurzen Klinikum. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Bioenergie Steyr". www.fernwaermesteyr.at. Archived from the original on 2014-05-17.
- ^ "Wickhoff, Franz". www.arthistorians.info. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
External links
- Official Homepage of the City of Steyr (in German)
- Live webcam of main square
- http://www.e-steyr.com Communitysite for news, nightlife, society, sports and culture