Weitra

Weitra
Main square
Postal code		3970
Area code	02856
Website	www.weitra.gv.at

Weitra (German pronunciation:

The municipality is situated amidst the extended forests of the rural Waldviertel region, close to the border with the Czech Republic. It is located on the upper Lainsitz (Lužnice) river, a tributary of the Vltava (Moldau) north of the European watershed. The town's economy mainly relies on agriculture and forestry, but also on summer tourism.

Weitra consists of the cadastral communities of Brühl, Großwolfgers, Oberwindhag, Reinprechts, Spital, St. Wolfgang, Sulz, Walterschlag, Weitra proper, and Wetzles.

History

A first castle at Weitra was built from about 1201 onwards at the behest of the

The fortress on the Bohemian border was besieged by

Beside its historic textile industry, Weitra is known as the oldest

Seats in the municipal council (Gemeinderat) as of 2020 elections:

• Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 16
• Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 3
• Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ): 2

Notable people

• Hiedler/Hitler family
  • Johanna Hiedler (1830−1906), a local peasant woman, and by her maternal grandfather Johann Nepomuk Hiedler (1807−1888) a distant cousin of her later husband Alois Hitler from nearby Strones, Döllersheim
    . Alois Hitler also lived in Spital between 1842-1850, raised by Johann Nepomuk Hiedler after he was abandoned by his mother as a ten-year-old.
  • Johann Georg Hiedler, an Austrian official and possible grandfather of Adolf Hitler.
  • Johanna Hiedler
    , the maternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler.
  • Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, the possible great-great-grandfather of Adolf Hitler.
• Ludwig and Maria Knapp, owners of a sawmill and a farm in Weitra, declared Righteous Among the Nations by Israel's Yad Vashem.

References

External links

• Tourism and Recreation - Stadtgemeinde Weitra - Niederösterreich

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