Judenburg

Template:Infobox Town AT Judenburg is a historic town in the state of Styria in Austria, the capital of the Judenburg district. It is located on the western end of the Aichfeld basin at the banks of the Mur river. The municipality also comprises the Katastralgemeinden of Tiefenbach and Waltersdorf.

History

The town was first mentioned in 1074 near Eppenstein Castle, the ancestral seat of the Eppensteiner noble family, who ruled as Styrian margraves in the 11th century. The name literally means "Jews' Castle", referring to the town's origin as a trading outpost on the route across the Alps, in which Jews played an important role, being represented in the city's coat of arms.

City Tower

In 1277 Judenburg received the right to collect tolls. The town grew to an important commercial centre for iron ore but also for valerian during the 13th and 14th century. In 1496 all Jews were expelled from Styria by order of Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. In the beginning of the 20th century, the town was one of the centers of Austria's steel industry.

After the Austrian Anschluss in 1938, anti-Semitic plans occurred to rename the city, which however were never carried out. During World War II, a subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp was located nearby. It was also one of many towns that saw the handover of Cossacks to the Red Army.

Today, only minor aspects of the former industry are left, but Judenburg is an industrial and trade centre.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Austria

Twin towns - Sister cities

Judenburg is a member of the Douzelage, a town twinning association of 23 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals.

Altea, Spain Bad Kötzting, Germany Bellagio, Italy Bundoran, Republic of Ireland Chojna, Poland Granville, France Holstebro, Denmark Houffalize, Belgium

Karkkila, Finland Kőszeg, Hungary Marsaskala, Malta Meerssen, the Netherlands Niederanven, Luxembourg Oxelösund, Sweden Prienai, Lithuania

Preveza, Greece Sesimbra, Portugal Sherborne, England Sigulda, Latvia Sušice, Czech Republic Türi, Estonia Zvolen, Slovakia

People

See also: Category:People from Judenburg District

• Renate Götschl
• Egon Haar (de)
• Herbert Hufnagl, journalist (de)
• Gernot Jurtin
• Christian Muthspiel, jazz musician, painter
• Kurt Muthspiel, composer (de)
• Wolfgang Muthspiel
• Christian Pfannberger
• Walter Pfrimer
• Georg Pichler (de)
• Alf Poier
• Josef Riegler (de)
• Eva Steinberger (de)
• Christoph Sumann
• Jack Unterweger
• Andi Zuber, racing driver.

External links

• Official homepage
• Judenburg tourism