Gmunden
Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,202 inhabitants (estimates 2004). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of goat, lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydropathic establishment, inhalation chambers, whey cure, etc. It is also an important centre of the salt industry in Salzkammergut.
Geography
Gmunden covers an area of 63.49 km² and has a median height of 425 m. It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on the Traun River and is surrounded by high mountains, as the Traunstein (5446 ft.), the Erlakogel (5150 ft.), the Wilder Kogel (6860 ft.) and the Höllengebirge.
Municipal arrangement
Gmunden is divided into the following boroughs: Gmunden, Gmunden-Ort, Schlagen, Traundorf, Traunstein.
Neighboring municipalities
| Ohlsdorf | Gschwandt | ||
| Pinsdorf | 
|
Sankt Konrad | |
| Altmünster | Ebensee |
Demographics
| Gmunden's population 1869 to 2001[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | Year | Population | ||
| 1869 | 6.857 | 1939 | 10.792 | ||
| 1880 | 6.857 | 1951 | 12.894 | ||
| 1890 | 7.521 | 1961 | 12.518 | ||
| 1900 | 8.451 | 1971 | 12.331 | ||
| 1910 | 8.451 | 1981 | 12.653 | ||
| 1923 | 9.633 | 1991 | 13.133 | ||
| 1934 | 9.838 | 2001 | 13.336 | ||
As of 2001, Gmunden has a population of 13,336. Of that, 88.4 % are Austrian in nationality, 1.5 % are from other European Union states, and 10.2 % are other foreigners. Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina (3.6 %) and the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2.7 %) placed the strongest foreigner portion, followed by Turks (1.2 %) and Germans (1.1 %).
The majority (69.3 %) confess themselves to the Roman Catholic Church. Evangelists are next, which 7.3 % of the population associate with. 5.9 % are Muslims and 3.3 % are Orthodox. 10.3 % are nonreligious.
History
A town in the area was in existence in the 5th century. By 1186 Gmunden was a town encircled with walls, although it didn't receive a church until about 1300. On November 14, 1626, a man named Pappenheim completely defeated an army of rebellious peasants here. Gmunden supplied battleships to Austria during the 17th century and helped wounded soldieres in hospitals in World War I. During World War II, an SS maternity home was located here, to insure racidal purity.[2]
Politics
The local council consists of 37 members. Since 2003 the members are from the following political parties:
- ÖVP: 19 seats
- SPÖ: 11 seats
- Die Grünen: 4 seats
- FPÖ: 3 seats
Since 1997 the mayor has been Heinz Köppl of the ÖVP.
Main sights
There are a great number of excursions and points of interest round Gmunden, specially worth mentioning being the Traun Fall, 10 m. N. of Gmunden, a castle called Schloss Ort, and a ceramik factory producing Gmunden Keramik branded pottery. The town hall is also popular.
Education
In Gmunden there are to four kindergartens, four elementary schools and three hauptschule. The three high schools are BG/BRG Gmunden, BRG Schloss Traunsee, and the Gymnasium Ort.
References
- ^ Gemeindedaten Gmunden (Statistik Austria).
- ^ Christine O'Keefe.Concentration Camps.www.tartanplace.com/tartanhistory/concentrationcamps.html
External links
