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'Wiener Neustadt' (Hungarian: ''Bécsújhely'') is a town located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land.

Contents

History

Main sights

Transportation

University, professional schools, vocational academies

City partnerships

Development of the city

Culture

People

External links

References

History

The city was founded by the Babenberger Duke Leopold V in 1194, who financed the construction of the city with the ransom paid for the English king Richard the Lionheart, who had previously been held as a hostage in Austria at Dürnstein. Wiener Neustadt, meaning more or less ''New Vienna'', first served as a fortress to defend against nearby Hungary. Important privileges were given to the city in order to enable it to prosper. In the 15th century, Wiener Neustadt experienced a population boom, when Emperor Friedrick III took up his residence here and in Graz. The ''Wappenwand'' (coat of arms wall) at the local castle displays the coats of arms of his possessions in the middle. His son Maximilian I maintained his court in Wiener Neustadt and is buried there in the St. George's Cathedral.
King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary conquered the city in August of 1487 after having laid siege to it for two years. He dedicated the Corvinus Cup to the inhabitants. Maximilian I managed to reconquer his native city in 1490. During the 16th Century, Wiener Neustadt lost its status as imperial residence and much of its importance. However, it still fulfilled its function as bulwark against the Turks and the Kuruc. In 1751 it received greater attention when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria decided to dedicate the First Military Academy worldwide inside the imperial castle. In 1752, the Theresian Military Academy took up its operations, which have continued to this day with only a few interruptions. In 1768, Wiener Neustadt was destroyed by an earthquake. The castle, which had suffered strongly, was rebuilt using plans made by the architect Nicolò Pacassi. In 1785, Emperor Joseph II transferred the diocese of Wiener Neustadt to St. Pölten.
In the 19th century the city became an industrial town, especially after the opening of the Austrian Southern Railway in 1842.
In 1909, an airfield north of the city was inaugurated. It later served as a training ground for the flight pioneers Igo Etrich, Karl Illner and Adolf Warchalowski, who conducted their tests there.
In the late 1930s, Erwin Rommel spent time at the military academy in Wiener Neustadt, and returned again with his family for rest and recreation during World War II. During the war, the massively expanded airplane factory (Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke, WNF) was a major centre for the manufacture of Bf 109 fighters, and a repair facility for Junkers bombers and destroyers^[1]. As a result the city was so was heavily bombed that 80% of the city were destroyed. Only 18 of 4,000 buidlings were totally spared (a degree of damage only comparable to Dresden, Hamburg, and Hiroshima) and very heavy loss of civilian life occurred.

Main sights

★ The Late-Romanesque ''Dom'', consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

★ Former church of ''St. Peter an der Sperr'', erected in the 13th century and modified in the mid-15th century by the imperial architect Peter von pusica. Secularized in the 19th century, it is now used for exhibitions.

★ The Military Academy, a 13th century formerly four-towered castle which was later used as residence by Frederick III of Habsburg. The latter had it enlarged and the St. George Chapel built in the mid-15th century: it has notable glassworks and houses the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I. It became seat of the Academy in 1752. Destroyed during World War II, it has been rebuilt to the original appearance.

★ Water tower

★ Tower of Tortures (early 13th century), now housing a private weapons collection.

★ Mariensäule (a plague column at Hauptplatz)

★ Church of the Capuchins, documented from the 13th century. Of the original construction today the Gothic choir (late 14th century) and the statues of St. Mary and St. James can be seen.

★ The medieval walls, built using part of the ransom of Richard I of England.

★ City Museum

★ City archives

★ ''Aviaticum'' Flight museum

★ Industrial museum

★ Hospital museum

★ Kurt Ingerl-Gedenkraum

★ Mineralogical museum

★ Tower museum in the cathedral

Transportation

Wiener Neustadt is one of the most important traffic junctions of Austria. It is connected to other major centers of population by railway and by highway. The city has two airfields (a military one which was the first airfield in Austria and a civil one owned by Diamond Aircraft) and is the starting point of Austria's only shipping canal, the Wiener Neustaedter Kanal, which was meant to reach out to Trieste but was never finished.

University, professional schools, vocational academies

Austria's first and largest Fachhochschule for business and engineering, the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, is located here.

City partnerships

★ Monheim am Rhein, Germany

★ Desenzano del Garda, Italy

★ Sopron, Hungary, since 1988

★ Ningbo, People's Republic of China (PRC)

Development of the city

The most recent extension of the city is the ''CIVITAS NOVA'', Latin for ''new city'', an ambitious project for an industrial, research and commercial center. In 2008, on the area of the Civitas Nova, a cancer research center for ion therapy will be opened under the name of Med Austron (link in German).

Culture

In 1996 Wiener Neustadt became internationally famous as a so-called "sidewalk" (http://www.dade.at/sidewalk/sidew.htm) designed by a Japanese artist was built around the main square. The aerodrome is a big music venue (link in German).

People

★ Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

★ Joseph Matthias Hauer, composer.

★ Karl Merkatz, actor.

★ Kurt Ingerl, sculptor.

★ Viktor Gernot, actor and comedian.

★ Arnold Grabner, politician and Vice President of the OeOC

External links

★ The city's history (in English)

★ The city's history

★ Sightseeing Information on Wiener Neustadt and Lower Austria

References

1. Haberfellner Wernfried, Schroeder Walter. Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke. Entstehung, Aufbau und Niedergang eines Flugzeugwerkes. Weishaupt Verlag, Graz. ISBN 3-7059-0000-5