Werfen
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 Werfen
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| Country | Austria |
| State | Salzburg |
| District | St. Johann im Pongau |
| Mayor | Franz Meissl (SPÖ) |
| Area | 154 km2 (59 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 548 m (1798 ft) |
| Population | 3,030 (1 January 2011)[1] |
| - Density | 20 /km2 (51 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | JO |
| Postal code | 5450 |
| Area code | 06468 |
| Website | www.gemeindewerfen.at |
Werfen is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau district, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is located in the Pongau region, on the southern rim of the Berchtesgaden Alps in the valley of the Salzach river, about 40 km (25 mi) south of the city of Salzburg. The municipality comprises the Katastralgemeinden of Reitsam, Scharten, Sulzau and Wimm.
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[edit] Overview
The settlement arose south of the Burg Hohenwerfen, erected from 1075 at the behest of the Salzburg archbishop Gebhard during the Investiture Controversy with Emperor Henry IV. With the lands of the former archbishopric, Werfen finally fell to the Austrian Empire after the Vienna Congress in 1816.
Besides the medieval castle, the best-known attraction is the Eisriesenwelt, the world's largest ice cave. West of Werfen is the secluded Blühnbach Valley with the Baroque Blühnbach Castle, a former hunting lodge of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau, which in 1908 was acquired by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. After the archduke's assassination, the House of Habsburg sold the castle to the German Krupp industrial dynasty, it is today a private property of Frederick R. Koch.
A small portion of a picnic scene from The Sound of Music was filmed on a hillside of the village of Werfen. Julie Andrews and crew filmed the opening shots of the "Do-Re-Mi" sequence with the Burg Hohenwerfen in the background.[2] Werfen was also the location for some filming of Where Eagles Dare.
[edit] Politics
Seats in the municipal council (Gemeinderat) as of 2006 elections:
- Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 11
- Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 6
- Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ): 2
[edit] References
- ^ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2011-01-01.
- ^ See "The Sound of Music Filming Locations" at The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. http://www.movie-locations.com/intromovies/soundmusic.html. Accessed 27 March 2007.
[edit] External links
Media related to Werfen at Wikimedia Commons
[edit] Gallery
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Werfen, view to a street
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Werfen, church tower
