- Freistadt
Infobox Ort in Österreich
Art = Stadt
Name = Freistadt
Wappen = Coat of arms of Freistadt.svg
lat_deg = 48 | lat_min = 30 | lat_sec = 42
lon_deg = 14 | lon_min = 30 | lon_sec = 22
Lageplan = Lage Freistadt.png
Bundesland = Oberösterreich
Bezirk = Freistadt
Höhe = 560
Fläche = 12.88
Einwohner = 7437
Stand = 1.01.2008
PLZ = 4240
Vorwahl = 07942
Kfz = FR
Gemeindekennziffer = 40 601
NUTS = AT313
LOCODE = AT FSD
Straße = Hauptplatz 1
Website = [http://www.freistadt.at/ www.freistadt.at]
Bürgermeister = Christian Jachs
Partei = ÖVP
Gemeinderatanzahl = 37
Wahljahr = 2003
Gemeinderat = 17 ÖVP, 14 SPÖ, 4 GUT, 2 FPÖFreistadt (literally "Freetown") is an small
Austria n town in the state ofUpper Austria in the regionMühlviertel . With a population of approximately 7,500 residents, it is a trade center for local villages. Freistadt is the district commission of the same named District Freistadt. The nearest sizeable city isLinz , about 40 km away.Freistadt was an old medieval town (founded around 1220) that separated the Habsburg and Bohemian lands. It was a crossroad of the salt and iron trade route during the middle ages from the
Danube toBohemia . The outer and inner walls, towers and gates of the old city, build mainly between 1363 and 1393 still exist today.The main entrance to the Old Town is through the Linzer Tor (Linz Gate). The spacious Hauptplatz (main square) is surrounded by painted fronts of renovated burghers' houses. On the highest point of Freistadt stands the parish church of St Catherine (14th-15th century, remodelled in Baroque style in 1690 and rebuilt in Gothic style in 1967); note in particular the interlaced ribbed vaulting in the roof of the choir. At the northeastern corner of the square a gateway leads to the 14th century Schloss Freistadt, with a 50m/165ft high keep which now houses the Mühlviertler Schlossmuseum, a local
museum with a large collection of verre églomisé (glass decorated with a layer of engraved gold). Outside the Böhmertor (Bohemian Gate) stands the little 15th century Liebfrauenkirche with beautiful "pillars of light" of 1484.External links
* [http://freistadt.riskommunal.net/default.aspx Official Webpage of Freistadt (German only)]
* [http://www.tiscover.at/at/guide/54863at,en,SCH1/objectId,RGN167at,season,at1/home.html Tourist Information]
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