Enns, Austria

Coat of Arms	Map
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Key Facts
State:	Upper Austria
District:	Linz-Land
Area:	33,27 km²
Inhabitants:	10611 (as of 2001)
Population density:	319 Inhabitants per km²
Elevation above sea level:	281 m
Postal code:	4470
Area code:	07223
Geographic location:	48°13' North 14°28' East
Registration plate code:	LL
Official municpality code:	41005
Address of Municipal administration:	Hauptplatz 11 A-4470 Enns, Austria
Website:	www.enns.at
E-Mail Address:	office@enns.ooe.gv.at
Politics
Mayor:	Franz Stefan Karlinger (SPÖ)
Community Council:	37 Members: 12 ÖVP, 21 SPÖ, 1 FPÖ, 3 Greens

Enns ist a city in Upper Austria, located 281 m above sea level on the river Enns, which forms the border to Lower Austria.

Enns is Austria's oldest city. The document conferring the privileges of a city to the town dating to the year 1212 can be visited in the local museum. The landmark of Enns is the city tower, which is 60 m high.

Geography

Enns, lying at an elevation of 281 m, extends for 7.5 km from north to south and 8.6 km from West to East. Its total area is 34.3 km², of which 12.8 % are covered with forest, and 64.1% are used for agriculture. The community can be subdivided into the neighborhoods of Einsiedl, Enghagen, Enghagen am Tabor, Enns, Ental, Erlengraben, Hiesendorf, Kottingrat, Kristein, Kronau, Lorch, Moos, Rabenberg and Volkersdorf.

History

The first settlements in the area of the mouth of the Enns river to the Danube date back to 4000 years ago.

Celts settled the land around 400 BC. The Celtic kingdom of Noricum was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 15 AD and was designated as the Roman province of Noricum in 45.

During the second and third centuries, the Roman camp of Lauriacum, in which up to 6000 soldiers where stationed, was located on the territory of modern Enns. The nearby town received the privileges of a city in 212 by Emperor Caracalla. At that time, about 30.000 people lived in Lauriacum. During the persecutions of Christians under the reign of Emperor Diocletian, Saint Florian died as a martyr on Mai 4, 304, when he drowned in the river Enns.

Around 370, an early Christian basilica was built on the remains of a temple. Lauriacum was a bishopric until 488. The modern basilica of Lorch was built in 1344 on the fundament of the old church.

In 900, the Enisiburg castle was built on the Georgenberg hill, near the modern city center, to serve as a protective fortress against Hungarian invasions. It later developed into the chateau of Ennsegg. The surrounding settlement prospered from the 12th century onwards, when Count Otakar II created a market here.

In 1186, the Georgenberg Pact was signed, which was a contract of heritage between Otakar IV of Styria, who lacked a male heir, and the Babenberg Duke of Austria Leopold V. Following the death of Otakar in 1192, Styria, which then was significantly bigger than the name of the contemporary state and reached from Slovenia to Upper Austria, fell to the Babenbergs. Thus, Enns became Austrian.

As Enns was endowed with city privileges by Duke Leopold VI in 1212, it is now considered Austria's oldest city.

The landmark of Enns, the City Tower on the Main Square, was erected between 1564 and 1568 as a belltower, watchtower and clocktower.

Politics

Municipal Council

The municipal council consists of 37 members. Since the elections of 2003, the representation oft the parties is the following:

• 21 Social Democrats
• 12 Austrian People's Party
• 3 Greens
• 1 Austrian Freedom Party

The current mayor is Franz Stefan Karlinger, a social democrat.

Population

In 1991, Enns had 10192 inhabitants according to the census. The number grew to 10639 in the census of 2001.