Braunau am Inn

Infobox Ort in Österreich
Art = Stadt
Name = Braunau am Inn
Wappen = Wappen v. Braunau am Inn.jpg
lat_deg = 48 | lat_min = 15 | lat_sec = 30
lon_deg = 13 | lon_min = 02 | lon_sec = 00
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Oberösterreich
Bezirk = Braunau am Inn
Höhe = 351
Fläche = 24.8
Einwohner = 17333
Stand = 18.12.06
PLZ = 5280
Vorwahl = 07722
Kfz = BR
Gemeindekennziffer = 40 404
NUTS = AT311
Straße = Stadtplatz 38
Website = [http://www.braunau.at/ www.braunau.at]
Bürgermeister = Gerhard Skiba
Partei = SPÖ
Gemeinderatanzahl = 37
Gemeinderat = 21 SPÖ, 7 ÖVP, 5 SONST1, 4 FPÖ
Wahljahr = 2003
image_photo = Braunau_am_Inn.jpg
image_caption = Braunau city centre, seen from the Inn bridge

Braunau am Inn is a city in the Innviertel region of Upper Austria ("Oberösterreich"), the north-western state of Austria. It lies about 90 km west of Linz and about 60 km north of Salzburg, on the border with the German state of Bavaria. The population in 2001 was 16,372. A port of entry, it is connected by bridges over the Inn River with its Bavarian counterpart, Simbach am Inn. It is well-known as the birthplace of Adolf Hitler.

History

The town was first mentioned around 810 and received the city statute in 1260, which makes it one of the oldest cities in Austria. It became a fortress and important trading route junction, dealing with the salt trade and with ship traffic on the River Inn.

Throughout its history it changed hands four times. It was Bavarian until 1779 and became an Austrian town under the terms of the treaty of Teschen, which settled the War of the Bavarian Succession. As a major Bavarian city, the town played an outstanding role in the Bavarian uprising against the Austrian occupation during the War of the Spanish Succession, when it hosted the Braunau Parliament, a provisional Bavarian Parliament in 1705 headed by Georg Sebastian Plinganser born 1680 in Pfarrkirchen; and died 7 May 1738 in Augsburg. Under the terms of the treaty of Pressburg, Braunau became Bavarian again in 1809. In 1816, during reorganisation of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, Bavaria ceded the town to Austria and was compensated by the gain of Aschaffenburg. Braunau has been an Austrian city ever since.

Braunau has a remarkable 15th-century church with a 99m-high spire, the third highest in Austria. Its patron saint is St. Stephen. The remains of a castle house a museum and parts of the former town walls can still be seen. Another museum is housed in refurbished 18th century public baths.

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau on 20 April 1889; but he and his family left Braunau and moved to Linz in 1894. Outside the building in which he was born is a memorial stone commemorating the victims of World War II. The stone is made of granite from the Mauthausen concentration camp. It states: "Für Frieden, Freiheit und Demokratie. Nie wieder Faschismus. Millionen Tote mahnen", or "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy, never Again Fascism, Millions of Dead Warn (us)."

In 1938 Ranshofen, which at that time had one of Austria's largest aluminum plants, was annexed to Braunau. In 1948 Braunau had a population of 11,744.

Braunau has a full range of industries including electronics, metal (AMAG), woodworking, and glass. The town also has the largest aluminium works in Austria.

After two successful seasons, the local football team, S.V. Braunau, reached the Austrian 1st Division before suddenly going bankrupt in 2000. The team was refounded as F.C. Braunau.

External links

* [http://www.braunau.at/ Official website of Braunau]
* [http://htl-braunau.at/ Official website of the HTBLA Braunau]
* [http://www.hlwbraunau.at/ Official website of the HLW Braunau]
* [http://www.gymbraunau.at/ Official website of the BG & BRG Braunau]
* [http://www.braunauer.net/ Portal for the district Braunau]
* [http://www.fc-braunau.at/ Official soccer club of Braunau]