Gmunden


Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants. It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of 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 and has a median elevation of. It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on the Traun River and is surrounded by high mountains, including the Traunstein , the Erlakogel, the Wilder Kogel and the Höllengebirge.

Municipal arrangement

Gmunden is divided into the following boroughs: Gmunden, Gmunden-Ort, Schlagen, Traundorf, Unterm Stein.

Neighboring municipalities

Population

As of 2001, Gmunden had a population of 13,336. Of that, 88.4% were Austrian in nationality, 1.5% are from other European Union states, and 10.2% are other foreigners. Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia placed the strongest foreigner portion, followed by Turks and Germans.
The majority confess themselves to the Roman Catholic Church. Evangelicals are next, which 7.3% of the population associate with. 5.9% are Muslims and 3.3% are Orthodox. 10.3% are nonreligious.

History

In 1000 BCE the Illyrians were mining salt here. A settlement was already in existence in the fifth century CE. By 1186 Gmunden was a fortified place surrounded by walls, although it did not receive a church until about 1300. In 1278 Gmunden became a town. On November 14, 1626 an army of rebellious peasants was completely defeated at Gmunden by General Pappenheim, who had been ordered by Maximilian I to suppress the peasant rebellion in Upper Austria.
The dead peasant insurgents were buried in nearby Pinsdorf, where an obelisk styled memorial known as the Bauernhügel in their honour can still be seen.
Gmunden supplied battleships to Austria during the 17th century and helped wounded soldiers in hospitals in World War I. During World War II, an SS maternity home was located here, "to insure racial purity" in accordance with Nazi racial theories.

Politics

The local council consists of 37 members. In the last municipal election in September 2015, the following are seats won by the political parties:
Mayors:
The current mayor is Stefan Krapf from ÖVP party. He became the mayor of Gmunden since 2014 replacing Heinz Köppl. The city council which includes of the mayor, consists of nine members; 5 from ÖVP, 2 from SPÖ, and 1 each from FPÖ and the Greens.

Main sights

There are a great number of excursions and points of interest round Gmunden, specially worth mentioning being the Traun Fall, north of Gmunden, a castle called Schloss Ort, and a ceramic factory producing branded pottery. The town hall is also a popular tourist destination.

Education

In Gmunden there are four kindergartens, four elementary schools and three Hauptschulen. The three high schools are BG/BRG Gmunden, BRG Schloss Traunsee, and Gymnasium Ort.

People