Passau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Passau | |
|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Country | Germany |
| State | Bavaria |
| Administrative region | Niederbayern |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 50,415 (September 30, 2003) |
| Area | 69.72 km² |
| Population density | 725 /km² |
| Elevation | 294-443 m |
| Coordinates | 48°34′ N 13°28′ E |
| Postal code | 94001-94036 |
| Area code | 0851 |
| Licence plate code | PA |
| Mayor | Albert Zankl (CSU) |
| Website | passau.de |
Passau (Latin: Batavia, Czech: Pasov) is a town in Niederbayern, Eastern Bavaria, Germany, known also as the Dreiflüssestadt (City of Three Rivers), because the Danube River is joined there by the Inn River from the South, and the Ilz River coming out of the Bavarian Forest to the North.
Its population is 50,415, of whom about 10,000 are students at the local University of Passau. The university, founded in the late 1970s, is the extension of the (centuries old) Institute for Catholic Studies. It is renowned in Germany for its institutes of Economics, Law, Computer Sciences and Cultural Science.
Contents |
[edit] History
Passau was an ancient Roman colony of ancient Noricum called Batavis, Latin for "for the Batavi". The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe mentioned often by classical authors, and they were regularly associated with the Suebian marauders, the Heruli.
During the second half of the 5th century, St. Severinus established a monastery here. In 739, an Irish monk called Boniface founded a bishopric here and for many years this was the largest diocese of the Holy Roman Empire for many years.
In the Treaty of Passau (1552), Archduke Ferdinand I, representing Emperor Charles V, secured the agreement of the Protestant princes to submit the religious question to a diet. This led to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.
During World War II the town housed three sub-camps of the infamous Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp: Passau I (Oberilzmühle), Passau II (Waldwerke Passau-Ilzstadt) and Passau III (Jandelsbrunn).
From 1892 till 1894 Adolf Hitler and his family lived in Passau. The city archives mention Hitler being in Passau on 4 different occasions in the 1920s for speeches.
[edit] Main sights
Tourism in Passau focuses mainly on the three rivers, the St. Stephen's Cathedral (Der Passauer Stephansdom) and the "Old City" (Die Altstadt). With 17,774 pipes, the organ at St. Stephen's was long held to be the largest church pipe organ in the world and is today second in size only to the organ at First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, which was expanded in 1994. St.Stephen is a true masterpiece of Italian Baroque,built by Italian architect Carlo Lurago and decorated in part by Carpoforo Tencalla. Many river cruises down the Danube start at Passau and there is a cycling path all the way down to Vienna. It is also notable for its gothic and baroque architecture. The town is dominated by the Veste Oberhaus and the former fortress of the Bishop, on the mountain crest between the Danube and the Ilz rivers. Right beside the town hall is the Scharfrichterhaus, an important jazz and cabaret stage on which political cabaret is performed.
[edit] Trivia
An interesting fact is that the Inn is the largest river of the three meeting at the city, so that the Danube should really be called Inn from Passau on. However, at the place of the confluence of two rivers, the name is given to the one which is the longest. The Inn may be wider in Passau than the Danube; still, the name stays Danube as the latter is the longer of the two. Since all three rivers meet at the same point, it causes the rivers to flood at that point. This flood affects parts of town that are at water level, which tends to amuse tourists and non-local media, while locals have many years of experience in getting used to water.
[edit] Twinnings
Hackensack, USA, since 1952
Dumfries, Scotland, since 1957
Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, since 1973
Krems an der Donau, Austria, since 1974
Akita, Japan, since 1984
Málaga, Spain, since 1987
Budweis, Czech Republic, since 1993
Liuzhou, People's Republic of China, since 1999
Veszprém, Hungary, since 1999
Montecchio Maggiore, Italy, since 2003
[edit] External links
- Official website {{de icon}
- CrankCookieShortfilmFestival-Passau (German)
- Passau Wiki (German)
- Images from Passau
Countries: Germany · Austria · Slovakia · Hungary · Croatia · Serbia · Romania · Bulgaria · Ukraine · Moldova
Cities: Donaueschingen · Ulm · Ingolstadt · Regensburg · Passau · Linz · Vienna · Bratislava · Győr · Esztergom · Budapest · Baja · Vukovar · Ilok · Bačka Palanka · Novi Sad · Belgrade · Smederevo · Drobeta-Turnu Severin · Vidin · Rousse · Brăila · Galaţi · Tulcea
Tributaries (list): Iller · Lech · Regen · Isar · Inn · Morava · Drava · Tisza · Sava · Timiş · Velika Morava · Jiu · Iskar · Olt · Osam · Yantra · Vedea · Argeş · Ialomiţa · Siret · Prut
