| Ortenburg (Bavaria) | |
| Ortenburg town centre | |
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Ortenburg (Bavaria)
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Location of Ortenburg (Bavaria) within Passau district
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| Coordinates | |
| Administration | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Bavaria |
| Admin. region | Lower Bavaria |
| District | Passau |
| Mayor | Hans Halser (Überparteiliche Wählergemeinschaft) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 60.73 km2 (23.45 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 358 m (1175 ft) |
| Population | 7,064 (31 December 2010)[1] |
| - Density | 116 /km2 (301 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | PA |
| Postal code | 94496 |
| Area code | 08542 |
| Website | www.ortenburg.de |
Ortenburg is a municipality and old market town in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany.
Set in the Wolfach River valley, Ortenburg can look back over a 900 year history. In about 1120 it was established by the Princes of Ortenburg. At the same time the upwardly mobile von Kamm family appeared on the scene. However, during the thirteenth century the von Kamms relocated to Hals (now a quarter of Passau). The Ortenburg princes, whose own origins lay with the Spanheimer dynasty, were keen to establish their own separate dynastic centre and it was this Imperial immediacy (commercially privileged territory) which became the principality of Ortenburg.
The Ortenburgs were among the most powerful of the Bavarian nobility, competing in terms of power and position with the Wittelsbach dynasty. During the height of their power, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Ortenburgs held lands from as far south as the Brixen valley, that extended also far into the Upper Palatinate.
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