| Gmunden | |
| Gmunden's lakefront on a cloudy summer's day | |
|
Gmunden
|
|
| Country | Austria |
| State | Upper Austria |
| District | Gmunden |
| Mayor | Heinz Josef Köppl (ÖVP) |
| Area | 63.49 km2 (25 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 425 m (1394 ft) |
| Population | 13,073 (1 January 2011)[1] |
| - Density | 206 /km2 (533 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Postal code | 4810 |
| Area code | 07612 |
| Website | www.gmunden.ooe.gv.at |
Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,202 inhabitants (estimates 2004). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of goat, lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydropathic establishment, inhalation chambers, whey cure, etc. It is also an important centre of the salt industry in Salzkammergut.
Contents |
Gmunden covers an area of 63.49 km² and has a median height of 425 m. It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on the Traun River and is surrounded by high mountains, as the Traunstein (mountain) (5446 ft.), the Erlakogel (5150 ft.), the Wilder Kogel (6860 ft.) and the Höllengebirge.
Gmunden is divided into the following boroughs: Gmunden, Gmunden-Ort, Schlagen, Traundorf, Unterm Stein.
| Ohlsdorf | Gschwandt | ||
| Pinsdorf | Sankt Konrad | ||
| Altmünster | Ebensee |
| Gmunden's population 1869 to 2001[2] |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | Year | Population | ||
| 1869 | 6.857 | 1939 | 10.792 | ||
| 1880 | 6.857 | 1951 | 12.894 | ||
| 1890 | 7.521 | 1961 | 12.518 | ||
| 1900 | 8.451 | 1971 | 12.331 | ||
| 1910 | 8.451 | 1981 | 12.653 | ||
| 1923 | 9.633 | 1991 | 13.133 | ||
| 1934 | 9.838 | 2001 | 13.336 | ||
As of 2001, Gmunden has a population of 13,336. Of that, 88.4 % are Austrian in nationality, 1.5 % are from other European Union states, and 10.2 % are other foreigners. Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina (3.6 %) and the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2.7 %) placed the strongest foreigner portion, followed by Turks (1.2 %) and Germans (1.1 %).
The majority (69.3 %) confess themselves to the Roman Catholic Church. Evangelicals are next, which 7.3 % of the population associate with. 5.9 % are Muslims and 3.3 % are Orthodox. 10.3 % are nonreligious.
A settlement was in existence already in the fifth century AC. By 1186 Gmunden was a fortified town surrounded by walls, although it did not receive a church until about 1300. On November 14, 1626 an army of rebellious peasants was completely defeated at Gmunden by General Pappenheim, who had been ordered by Maximilian I to suppress the peasant rebellion in Upper Austria.[3] The dead peasant insurgents were buried in nearby Pinsdorf, where an obelisk styled memorial known as the Bauernhügel in their honour can still be seen.
Gmunden supplied battleships to Austria during the 17th century and helped wounded soldiers in hospitals in World War I. During World War II, an SS maternity home was located here, "to insure racial purity" in accordance with Nazi racial theories.[4]
The local council consists of 37 members. Since 2003 the members are from the following political parties:
Since 1997 the mayor has been Heinz Köppl of the ÖVP.
There are a great number of excursions and points of interest round Gmunden, specially worth mentioning being the Traun Fall, 10 miles (16 km) north of Gmunden, a castle called Schloss Ort, and a ceramic factory producing Gmunden Keramik branded pottery. The town hall is also a popular tourist destination.
In Gmunden there are four kindergartens, four elementary schools and three hauptschule. The three high schools are BG/BRG Gmunden, BRG Schloss Traunsee, and Gymnasium Ort.
Gmunden Straßenbahn, the town tramway.
|
|||||