Moosburg an der Isar
Moosburg an der Isar is a town in the Landkreis Freising of Bavaria, Germany. It is the oldest town between Regensburg and Italy and lies on the river Isar at an altitude of 421 m (1381 ft). It has 17,275 inhabitants (2005) and covers an area of 44 km². It is easily reached by Autobahn 92 and regional train from Munich.
It is popular with commuters to Munich, Freising and the Munich airport. There is considerable industry in the town with chemical, electrotechnical, food processing and machine-building plants.
History
There was a Benedictine Abbey in Mossburg in the 8th century and a cluster of dwellings and artisans sprang up around it. Duke Heinrich der Löwe started the construction of the Kastulus Minster (cathedral) in 1171 In the 12th century a town was established and received its first charter in 1311. The walls and moat were completed in the 15th century. The town reached its peak during the early part of the 16th century. In 1599 the Benedictines moved to Landshut reducing its importance.
Sieges and plundering during the Thirty Year War started the decline of the town. In 1702 a fire reduced half the buildings to ashes. Moosburg suffered further depradation during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. Another disastrous fire in 1865 resulted in the downtown area being redeveloped in the style of the late 19th century.
During the 1920s and 1930s new industries revived the town. In September 1939 a prisoner of war camp Stalag VII-A was built to accommodate 10,000. By early 1945 the number of registered prisoners had grown to more than 80,000 with many of them working in regional industries and farms. It is likely that the presence of this camp close to the town center spared it large scale bombing.
After the liberation of the camp by the Americans at the end of April 1945, it was turned into Civilian Internment Camp #6 for 12,000 German men and women suspected of criminal activity for the Nazi regime[1]. The camp was released by the Americans in 1948 and served to house German refugees exiled from eastern areas. It became a new part of the town, named Moosburg-Neustadt (Moosburg-Newtown).
Main sights and culture
Main Altar of the Kastulus Minster is the principal masterpiece of the wood sculptor Hans Leinberger of Landshut. Originally the altar was a triptych in which the side panels could be swiveled inward to close the altar. Today the side panels hang above the choir stalls.
Romanesque style west doorway of the Minster was actually built in the 19th century.
Baroque façades, which survived the 1865 fire can be seen, at the east end of Herrnstrasse, for instance the red one of the chemist's shop.
Memorial to inmates of Stalag VII-A. It is a fountain located in the center of Neustadt. It consists of four Bas-reliefs created out of local stone by the French sculptor Antoniucci Volti while he was a prisoner in the camp.
Partner cities
- Bry-sur-Marne, (France)
- Rochester, Minnesota, (USA)
- Moosburg, (Austria)
See also
Books
- Roger DEVAUX : Treize Qu'ils Etaient - Life of the french prisoners of war at the peasants of low Bavaria (1939-1945) - Treize Qu'ils Etaient - Mémoires et Cultures - 2007 - ISBN 2-916062-51-3
References
External links
- Moosburg Online - information about Moosburg
- [2] - pictures of old Moosburg
48°28′N 11°56′E / 48.467°N 11.933°E
Towns and municipalities in Freising (district) | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||