Ortenburg (Bavaria)

Ortenburg (Bavaria)
Ortenburg town centre
Ortenburg (Bavaria)
Location of Ortenburg (Bavaria) within Passau district
Coordinates	48°32′N 13°13′E / 48.53333°N 13.21667°E / 48.53333; 13.21667Coordinates: 48°32′N 13°13′E / 48.53333°N 13.21667°E / 48.53333; 13.21667
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.

History

The Ortenburg Market in 1620, from a watercolour by Friedrich Casimir.

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.

References

1. ^ "Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes" (in German). Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung. 31 December 2010. https://www.statistikdaten.bayern.de/genesis/online?language=de&sequenz=tabelleErgebnis&selectionname=12411-009r&sachmerkmal=QUASTI&sachschluessel=SQUART04&startjahr=2010&endjahr=2010.