Hartberg, Austria

Hartberg is a town with 6795 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) and is located in the federal state of Styria in the south-east of Austria. It is the administrative center of the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district and is located in the Fürstenfeld judicial district.

 

Sights

Theatre
There are two theater groups in Hartberg. These are the lover's stage Hartberg, which interprets popular works, mainly comedies, and the tri-stage Hartberg, which has been presenting plays, among others, since 1988. played by Shakespeare, Felix Mitterer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt or Johann Nestroy.

The Hartberghalle serves as the primary venue for both groups.

Museums
City ​​Museum

Buildings
The late Romanesque Hartberger Karner with frescoes dates from the 12th century.
The late Gothic town parish church of St. Martin was first mentioned in 1157 and expanded in the Baroque style from 1745 to 1760. The high altarpiece is by Johann Cyriak Hackhofer.
The evangelical Jesus Christ Church was built in 1961-1964 by Waltraud Kolb.
Hartberg Castle is a medieval castle from the 12th century. In the 16th century it was redesigned in the Renaissance style, in the 17th century the arcade wing was built. The castle complex is now used by the cosmetics manufacturer and multilevel marketing company Ringana, which has set up its administrative headquarters here. Exceptions to this are a catering business in the former stables and the knight's hall, which is still used for public events.
Remains of the city wall date from the 12th to 13th centuries. It runs from the Reckturm, which was built in the second half of the 13th century, over the terraced city park to Hartberg Castle northwards, along the ring road eastwards to Franz-Schmidt-Gasse. In the east, the Schölbinger tower has been preserved with a short remainder of the city wall. Below the town parish church and Karner, the steep step was part of the church fortress in the narrow belt of the original town wall. The two city gates were demolished in the 19th century.
Capuchin Church and Monastery: The construction of the monastery lasted from 1654 to 1658 and ended with the dedication of the church. After the monks were expropriated during the National Socialist era, the building was converted into a nursing home, which it remained until 1955. In 2014 the Kapuziner left Hartberg. Since then, the Hartberg monastery has been a house of prayer in the sense of an oratorio after Philipp Neri.
The Ringwarte was built in 1906 and is the observation tower on the Ringkogel.
The Roman Catholic pilgrimage church of Maria Lebing is dedicated to the consummation of Mary (ascension).

 

Activity

HERZ (Hartberger recreation center). Outdoor pool, indoor pool, sauna, ice skating rink, e-bike rental.
"cycling"

 

Getting here

By plane
Graz Airport (IATA: GRZ) is around 75 km away and Vienna-Schwechat Airport (IATA: VIE) is around 140 km away.

By train
Hartberg train station is a station on the Thermenbahn between Friedberg (from there to Vienna) and Fehring (from there to Graz) with regional trains running every two hours. A journey from Graz or Vienna takes a little over 2 hours. Direct connections without changing trains are only possible in the morning and evening hours.

By bus
Regional and express buses run several times a day from/to Graz, journey time approx. 1:15 - 1:45 hours depending on the connection. An express bus line serves Vienna several times a day, journey time approx. 1:45 hours.

In the street
Hartberg is on the A 2 south autobahn and thus on the main artery between Vienna and Graz.

 

Around the city

On foot
Hartberg's city center can easily be crossed on foot. Wiener Strasse is designated as a pedestrian zone.

By bus
The city bus runs every hour on weekdays Monday to Saturday throughout almost the entire city area. Regional bus lines of the Verbundlinie (http://www.verbundlinie.at) enable a trip to the surrounding towns.

By bicycle
The cycle path network in and around the city is well developed. E-bike rental (http://www.velovital.com) is available for a fee at the HERZ outdoor pool.

In the street
Parking: The inner city area is a short-term parking zone free of charge, max. parking time 2 hours. The zone area is only signposted at the access roads. Outside the short-term parking zones, there are plenty of other spacious parking spaces available free of charge.

Rental cars and taxis
CityTaxi - Jagerhofer, Grazer Straße 18. Tel.: +43(0)664 3825462.
Taxi and rental car company Manfred Glatz, Neusafenauerstraße 60. Tel.: +43(0)664 2200306.
Taxi company Rynesch Dominik, Wiener Straße 31. Tel.: +43(0)664 1822211.

 

Shopping

It is best to buy pumpkin seed oil and wine (Morillon, Schilcher) directly from the farmer.

 

Eat

Cheap
The Buschenschanken - the Styrian wine taverns - are only open for a limited time a year. There is only wine from our own production and cold dishes.

Postal, Ring. Wonderful view over Hartberg.
Pusswald, Brühlgasse.
Rescuer Kneissl, Loffelbach. In-house breeding of wool pigs.
Römerbuschenschank Pöltl, Schildbach, near Villa Rustica.
Schmallegger, Kalvarienbergstrasse. organic wine.

Middle
Gasthaus zur Lebing Au
Gasthof zum Brauhaus Großschedl

Upscale
Hotel & Restaurant Pusswald, Grazer Straße 18. Tel.: +43(0)3332 62584. Gault Millau 2 toques. Feature: ★★★★.
Evening restaurant in the castle

 

Nightlife

From the discotheque to the dignified pub, there is something for every taste.

Voodoo. Techno, House, Electro.
yoyo Disco-pub.
KMK. Hard rock alternative.
Chili. American cocktail bar.
Jon Cor. Irish Pub.
NuChester. lounge bar

 

Hotel

Cheap
1 campsite, Augasse 35. Tel.: +43(0)3332 603603.
Haus Elfriede, Ring 282. Tel.: +43(0)3332 63430.
Oswald, Ring 272. Tel.: +43(0)3332 63772.
Steiner, Ring 123. Tel.: +43(0)3332 65451.
2 The Lind family, Pointstrasse 91, 8295 Eggendorf. Phone: +43(0)3332 64824.

Middle
3 Hotel Alter Hof, Herrengasse 4. Tel.: +43(0)3332 63356. Feature: ★★★.
Schreiners Berghof, Ring 3. Tel.: +43(0)3332 62305. Feature: ★★★.
Hotel Die Sonne, Hauptplatz 9. Tel.: +43(0)3332 62342. Feature: ★★★.
Claddagh Ring, Ring 25. Tel: +43(0)676 6808422. Holiday home.

Upscale
4 Hotel & Restaurant Pusswald, Grazer Straße 18. Tel.: +43(0)3332 62584. Feature: ★★★★.
5 Ring Bio Hotel, Schildbach 51. Tel.: +43(0)3332 6080. Feature: ★★★★.

 

Practical hints

Tourism association Hartberg and surroundings, 8230 Hartberg, Rochusplatz 3 (at the end of Wiener Straße near the city pond). Phone: +43 (0)3332 665050, email: tourismus@hartberg.at. Open: Mon-Fri: 9am - 5pm, Sat: 9am - 1pm.
Post office, Fritz-Stachel-Platz 1. Open: Mon – Fri 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

 

Geography

Hartberg is located on the eastern edge of the Styrian Joglland at the transition to the East Styrian hill country. The city is located in the east of Styria and is about 40 km north-east of the provincial capital Graz.

The Hartberger Safen flows through the eastern part of the city. Their tributaries drain the municipal area. The highest point in Hartberg is the Ringkogel (789 m) in the northwest.

In the south is the Natura 2000 European nature reserve Hartberger Gmoos.

 

History

The area around Hartberg was settled in prehistoric times, as evidenced by a Neolithic settlement on the nearby Ringkogel. In the Hallstatt and La Tène period there was a fortified Celtic hilltop settlement on the Ringkogel. There are also traces of settlement from Roman times, such as the Villa Rustica; Remains of Roman buildings from the second century were also found under the town parish church of Hartberg and the vicarage.

Hartberg was planned and expanded from 1125 to 1128 by Margrave Leopold I of Steyr. In 1286 the settlement was first mentioned as a town. The Hungarian invasion of 1418, which was later reworded as a Turkish invasion, also affected Hartberg. The town remained in the hands of the sovereign until 1529, before it was sold to the then governor Siegmund von Dietrichstein.

In 1469 the city was conquered by insurgents under the imperial mercenary leader Andreas Baumkircher, and a few years later it was devastated by the soldiers of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus. In 1532 Turkish troops passed the city but destroyed the suburbs. In 1605, the Haiducken unsuccessfully besieged Hartberg; At that time, too, the suburbs were burned again.

In 1715 the town burned down except for a few houses.

In 1944, during the time of National Socialism, a resistance group formed around the Wehrmacht deserter Gustav Pfeiler in Hartberg, which hid in the mountains and was partly voluntarily supported by farmers in the area with food and accommodation. In March 1945, the approximately 40 members of the group became active in the military. They were able to blow up three Fieseler Fi 156 aircraft and tried to arrest the Hartberg local group leader Erich Heumann. They shot members of his family and seriously wounded him. As a result, more and more people joined the group, but the SS also used more and more men to pursue the group and arrested numerous farmers in the area who were suspected of supporting the partisans. On May 4, 1945, nine freedom fighters were shot dead after a court-martial in the city park, and four more were hanged on the main square. As the Red Army approached on May 7, 1945, SS units took other partisan sympathizers with them as they retreated and shot them on the way. These executions or murders claimed a total of 27 lives.

In 1946 a commemorative plaque for this group was placed on the stretcher tower in the city park. A memorial stone in the cemetery bears the unspecific inscription "In memory of the victims of the last days of the war in 1945." The graves of the resistance fighters were also adapted to those of the Wehrmacht soldiers.

 

Population development

The population increased steadily from 1869 to 2001, with particularly strong growth between 1869 and 1880 (+13.1%), 1880 and 1890 (+12.1%), 1900 and 1910 (again +12.1%, compared to only 2.0% in the previous decade) and from 1939 to 1953 (+21.2%). Only from 1923 to 1934 was there a drop of 1.6%. The population has remained almost constant since 2001, the negative birth balance is offset by a positive migration balance.

religions
The inhabitants of Hartberg are predominantly Roman Catholic (88.2%). The second largest religious community is the Evangelical Church with 2.9%, closely followed by Islam with 2.6%. Other religions score less than 1%. 4.1% have no religious affiliation.

In addition to a Roman Catholic parish, Hartberg has also been the seat of a Protestant parish since 1948.

 

Economy and Infrastructure

A good half (51%) of the companies based there are active in the service sector (particularly personal, social and public services); over a third of the companies (37.3%) are trading companies. There are also technical service companies, construction companies and production companies in the fields of metal processing, textiles and carpets, plastics (manufacture of spectacle frames) as well as food and beverages. Tourism also plays an increasing role in summer.

 

Traffic

Hartberg is on the A 2 south autobahn and thus on the main traffic artery from Vienna to Graz. The city is also crossed by the B 54 Wechsel Straße from Wiener Neustadt to Gleisdorf, which has lost its national importance since the completion of the Süd Autobahn. The city is also the starting point of the Burgenland Straße B 50, which leads via Oberwart to the Hungarian border in the direction of Szombathely.

The Thermenbahn also connects Hartberg by rail with Vienna, Graz (via Fehring) and Fürstenfeld with regional trains running every two hours; however, the route is only of secondary importance compared to the southern railway. Hartberg station is the third largest station in the district after Fürstenfeld and Friedberg stations.

Graz Airport is around 75 km away, Vienna Airport around 140 km away.

 

Мedia

The district-wide published week - HBZ, the Hartberger district newspaper, as well as the small newspaper are represented with a regional office in Hartberg. From 2007 to December 2010, Radio Hartberg, a regional web radio, was online.

 

Sports

The local gymnastics and sports club (TSV) consists of the sections women's gymnastics, men's gymnastics, judo, karate, athletics, modern sports gymnastics, chess, skiing as well as the member clubs youth sports, tennis, HCH (ice hockey), which has meanwhile merged with a Weiz team to form the "Hartberg-Weiz gaming community", ballooning, football and volleyball.

The club TSV Hartberg (football section) has been playing in the Bundesliga, the highest Austrian level, since the 2018/19 season.

TSV Hartberg (Volleyball Section) is currently playing with the women's team in the Austrian Volleyball Bundesliga and with the men's team in the second division. The men's team has taken part in the European Cup four times and won the Austrian Volleyball Cup in 2007 and 2013, while the women's team has already taken part in the European Cup three times.

The local ice hockey club (HC Hartberg, also a member of TSV) was the champion of the 2007/08 season in the Styrian state league.

In addition to TSV, there are numerous other clubs in Hartberg. Among other things, the curling club ESV Flugrad Hartberg and the ice hockey club Naughty Dogs.

The Archery Club Hartberg (BSC Edelweiss Hartberg) is also among the front runners in Austria and around the world. This club has been in Hartberg for more than 20 years and has won countless titles during this time. A total of 455 medals have been won since 1984. Of these, 211 were gold, 139 silver and 105 bronze medals. Every year an international tournament or an Austrian state championship is held in Hartberg. Training opportunities exist in summer in Habersdorf and in winter in the training hall of HSVU Edelweiss Hartberg.

 

Public facilities

As the district capital, Hartberg is the regional center and thus the seat of offices, authorities and other public institutions.
town hall office
District Authority
Tax office
surveying office
police inspection
District offices of the chambers for agriculture and forestry, workers and employees as well as the Chamber of Commerce
Labor Market Service
state hospital

 

Education

Hartberg acts as a school town for the area. In the city there are two elementary schools and two new middle schools, which offer the main focus on sports, computer science and music. In addition, the grammar school in Hartberg includes a grammar school, a Realgymnasium, a Oberstufenrealgymnasium in the same school center there is also a Federal Educational Institute for Kindergarten Education, a Higher School for Economic Professions, a Technical School for Agriculture and Food Management in Hartberg, a Home Economics School, a Federal Commercial Academy and a Federal Commercial School. There is also a special education center and a music school. There is also a private school in the town of Hartberg, which consists of an elementary school and a secondary school and is located in the Hartberg eco-park.

 

Hiking trails

The Ostösterreichische Grenzlandweg (Austrian long-distance hiking trail 07) leads through the urban area of Hartberg, which in this section runs parallel to the Styrian state circular hiking trail (local trail number 950).

The local hiking trail no. 1 (marked blue and white) leads around the town, here other local hiking trails, such as trail variants to the Ringwarte, connect.

 

Politics

Mayor

2004-2016 Karl Pack (ÖVP)
since 2016 Marcus Martschitsch (ÖVP)

 

Council

The municipal council consists of 25 members and is composed as follows according to the result of the municipal council elections of March 22, 2015:
11 mandates of the ÖVP
6 mandates SPÖ
3 mandates FPÖ
4 mandates The Greens
1 NEOS mandate

In order to secure the municipal council majority, the ÖVP formed a coalition with the SPÖ. In March 2016, a group of four ÖVP local councilors left the ÖVP local council club. They remained as free mandataries in the municipal council. A local councilor from this group resigned in October 2016. The successor on the ÖVP list was again a member of the ÖVP municipal council club.

In July 2015, an FPÖ local council resigned from the party and has been a member of the ÖVP local council club since 2016.

In January 2017, the SPÖ canceled the coalition agreement with the ÖVP.

In April 2017, SPÖ, Die Grünen, FPÖ and the three “free” ÖVP mandaters formed a coalition under the name “Future Pact for Hartberg”, which has the majority with 15 mandates. The mayor will continue to be provided by the ÖVP, since a two-thirds majority is required to vote out.

In October 2017, the only municipal council of NEOS resigned for professional reasons. No successor could be found within the list for the vacant seat. Since November 20, 2017, only 24 of the 25 municipal council seats have been occupied by municipal councillors. Nine of them belong to the ÖVP, 15 are attributed to the "Future Pact for Hartberg".

 

Coat of arms

Blazon: "In a red shield crossed by a silver bar, the figure of Saint Martin appears on a green ground, seated on a brown horse with a gray bridle, walking to the left."

His head, with a full white beard, is covered with a pointed brown hat adorned with an ermine cuff and surrounded by a golden halo. His clothing consists of a red doublet, trousers of the same kind, a green coat lined with yellow, and brown boots with ermine tips.

The saint turns to a white-haired, white-bearded beggar, dressed only in a brown cloak and a gray apron, kneeling on his right knee beside the horse and raising his right hand. The shield is surrounded by an ornamented steel-colored border.

 

Miscellaneous

Hartberg has been a member of Cittàslow since 2009, a movement founded in Italy in 1999 to slow down and improve the quality of life in cities.

 

Personalities

Honorary citizen of the community

1961: Tobias Udier (1911–1985), Deputy Governor
1971: Franz Weart (1918–2009), deputy governor

 

Sons and daughters of the community

Laurenz Pansipp (1752–1827), master stonemason
Karl von Culoz (1785–1862), Feldzeugmeister and Theresa Knight
Josef Knar (1800-1864), mathematician and university teacher
Othmar Rieger (1904–1966), Germanist, teacher and poet
Erna Lesky (1911–1986), medical historian
Othmar Meißl (1917-2008), businessman and politician (FPÖ)
Alois Rechberger (1935–2009), politician
Grete Walter-Klingenstein (born 1939), historian
Maria Hampel-Fuchs (* 1940), politician (ÖVP)
Siegfried Herrmann (born 1942), politician
Ulrike Truger (born 1948), sculptor
Linde Prelog (born 1949), actress, author, songwriter and cabaret artist
Rudolf Gigler (born 1950), writer
Martin Loeschberger (born 1957), actor
Helmut Hirt (born 1958), politician (SPÖ)
Johann Ertl (born 1959), politician (FPÖ)
Erika Kronabitter (born 1959), writer and artist
Regina Sackl (born 1959), alpine skier
Werner Kogler (born 1961), politician (Greens)
Margret Almer (born 1962), yodeller and folk singer
Franz Amtmann (born 1963), electrical engineer and inventor
Werner Herbert (* 1963), police officer and politician (FPÖ)
Lisa Lercher (born 1965), author
Johannes Feichtinger (born 1967), historian
Wolfgang Dolesch (* 1970), politician (SPÖ)
Sha. (b. 1972), artist
Claudia Haagen-Schützenhöfer (* 1975), physics teacher
Karin Ammerer (born 1976), author of children's books
Marcus Pöttler (born 1977), writer
David Preiß (born 1978), football player and coach
Alexander Glehr (born 1980), film producer
Carina Laschober-Luif (* 1981), politician (ÖVP)
Jochen Pack (born 1981), politician (ÖVP)
Daniela Riedl (born 1982), artist and musician
Jürgen Rindler (born 1986), soccer goalkeeper
Christian Falk (born 1987), soccer player
Lukas Schnitzer (born 1988), politician (ÖVP)
Wolfgang Waldl (born 1989), soccer player
Jörg Wutzl (born 1989), beach volleyball player
Daniel Gremsl (born 1992), soccer player
Katharina Schützenhöfer (born 1993), volleyball and beach volleyball player
Lucas Wabnig (born 1995), soccer player
Manuel Pfeifer (born 1999), soccer player
Jonas Karner (born 2004), soccer player
Mariella El Sherif (born 2004), soccer player

 

People related to the community

Philip Wilhelm von Hornick (1640–1714), parish administrator from 1668 to 1672 in Hartberg
Matthias Macher (1793–1876), Austrian physician and writer, lived in Hartberg from 1829 to 1850
Fritz Ries (1907–1977), German industrialist, set up a carpet factory in Hartberg in the early 1970s
Ludwig Hirsch (1946–2011), songwriter and actor
Friedrichario (1825-1903), lawyer and self-taught artist
Ernst Vasovec (1917–1993), writer, lived in Hartberg from 1949 to 1964
Karl Stull, from 1935 to 1945 district captain and district administrator