Perchtoldsdorf is a market town with 14,996 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Mödling district in Lower Austria and one of the numerous wine towns in the vicinity of Vienna. Colloquially, Perchtoldsdorf is also known as Petersdorf or P’dorf.
The main attractions are the centrally located castle, the partly
medieval market square and the largest preserved defensive tower in
Austria. The defensive tower also serves as a church bell tower, but
there is no structural connection between the church and the tower.
Wehrturm Perchtoldsdorf
Perchtoldsdorf Parish Church
Perchtoldsdorf Hospital Church
Cultural Center Perchtoldsdorf
Trinity Column; a baroque plague column from the beginning of the 18th
century.
Resurrection Column of Perchtoldsdorf; a baroque Savior
column from the middle of the 18th century. This sacred building is one
of the few surviving buildings of the former pilgrimage site
"Leonhardiberg".
Among other things, the honorary graves of the
anatomist Josef Hyrtl and the painter Hans Fronius are located at the
Perchtoldsdorf cemetery. The important medieval theologian, university
professor and historian Thomas Ebendorfer (1388-1464) found his final
resting place in the parish church (the tombstone can be found today in
the defensive tower in the St. Nicholas Chapel).
Kreuzweg Hochberg
The house Hauptplatz 20, as the "Melker Lesehof", was the center of the
tithe and other rights of the Melk Abbey in the area of Perchtoldsdorf.
From the year 1323, a hostel for members of the monastery was run there,
in 1380 the monastery acquired the building, later still the adjacent
courtyard "In the wood" (later Elisabethstraße 2). The complex, which
included spacious wine cellar facilities, was sold after 1848. In the
abbey archive of Melk there is a record from the last decade of the 15th
century. At the end of the XIX century, he received a working document
for the introduction of the vine toe, a German copy of which was made
around 1600 and contains the field names that are still used today: the
Directorium novelli decimatoris or Directorium of a new reading master.
Josefswarte and Kammersteinerhütte
Kammerstein Castle ruins
Since
1976, the Perchtoldsdorf Summer Games have been held annually in July in
the Burghof.
Customs
Perchtoldsdorf Guardian's move in: Wine
festival on Saturday to Monday after Leonhardi Day (November 6), thanks
to the procession of the young men of the viticulture, humorous Gstanzln
singing on the market square, included in the List of Intangible
Cultural Heritage in Austria in 2010.
White stone: A piece of rock
above the Riede Hochrain in the edge of the forest in the southwest of
the village: The rock is regularly cut free by bushes and painted with
white lime paint. It is a reminder that the wine keeper Thomas von
Brauereigehilfen was killed there in 1422. He was then rescued by
winemakers and nursed back to health, and the guardian's move is also
intended to commemorate this incident.
Urbanikapelle: This chapel in
the Weinrieden of Hagenau was consecrated on September 22, 1968 in honor
of St. Urban. The statue of the saint is a work by the sculptor
Margarete Hanusch, which was erected by a donation from the Atzgersdorf
winemaker Magdalena Edelmoser. The plans for the construction of the
chapel were drawn up by Paul Katzberger.
Perchtoldsdorf is located on the southern city limits of Vienna.
In the west, the market town borders the Vienna Woods. After the
district capital Mödling, it is the largest town in the Mödling
district.
At the beginning of 2012, Perchtoldsdorf and
Kaltenleutbaren carried out an area swap in the size of 58 hectares,
which shifted the municipality boundaries a little and the
municipality now borders a short distance on the cadastral
municipality Weissenbach of the Hinterbrühl municipality in the
southwest. Some of the properties in the Tirolerhofsiedlung were
located in the Kaltenleutgenz area, although the residents used all
the facilities in the market town of Perchtoldsdorf and not in their
home town. Cold people were not directly accessible for them. In
return, Perchtoldsdorf ceded an equally large area on the property
of the former Perlmooser AG to Kaltenleutgabe.
Föhrenberge
Nature Park, Perchtoldsdorfer Heide
The west of Perchtoldsdorf
consists of the Föhrenberge Nature Park, which is a popular local
recreation area for the Viennese population and also has several
restaurants with the Franz Ferdinand Refuge on the Parapluieberg,
the Teufelstein Hut and the Kammersteiner Hut. The Perchtoldsdorfer
Heide, a dry grassland area with rare animals and plants, is part of
the nature park. This area was used as pastureland and by several
quarries until the 1960s. It was one of the first winter sports
areas in the Vienna area (user fees for tobogganers were already
collected in 1910, which led to corresponding protests). Motocross
races were also held in the area of the suction trench from 1955
to 1960. The "Rablhütte", an inn on the western edge of the heath
that was built in the 1920s, was acquired by the Perchtoldsdorf
community to avoid building speculation and demolished in 1986.
Theresienau
In the east of the community lies the area of
the former aristocratic Theresienau estate. It encompasses the
area of the former Unteren Speich mill (Spach mill) on Petersbach,
which was built in the 2nd half of the 18th century by Johann Georg
Widter, who was also the builder of the Schellenhof brewery in
Siebenhirten and the Waldmühle in Rodaun . The estate has been
called this since 1866. The name has nothing to do with the
“Empress” Maria Theresa, but refers to Therese von Orlando, the wife
of the landowner Franz von Orlando, who had already run a model farm
on the estate before the name was changed. In this context, he was
awarded the Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order in 1872. The
poet Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando was related to the landowners.
The opinion has been published that one of the bizarre characters in
Herzmanovsky-Orlando's novel "The Gaulschreck im Rosennetz", namely
Baron Nadir von Semlin, also goes back to suggestions from the
estate (it is said to be a baptized son of the Shah of Persia who
kept a harem and collected skulls as part of his rural refuge near
Mödling). The estate was sold to the Brenner-Felsach family in 1882.
About 15 million years ago, during the Miocene Badenian era, the
Hochstrasse-Walzengasse area was a surf terrace of the then sea, the
Paratethys. In 1995, when a cellar was built, fossils were found
(sea hedgehogs, shark teeth and scallops).
According to
today's knowledge, the flat part of Perchtoldsdorf was settled as
early as 6000 BC. Archaeological excavations prove a settlement of
the community area since the Neolithic Age, including two circular
moats and graves from late antiquity. Further excavations, during
which the remains of a wine press were found, prove the economic use
of the area in the Middle Ages.
The name Perchtoldsdorf is
mentioned for the first time in 1140. Settlement took place around
the castle on today's market square. At the time of the Babenbergs,
the influential lords of Perchtoldsdorf were at Perchtoldsdorf
Castle. There is no historical record of who the name comes from.
After the Lords of Perchtoldsdorf, the rulership rights passed to
the Habsburgs in 1286. Perchtoldsdorf Castle was used as the widow's
seat of the Habsburgs, the place took off again and achieved market
rights in 1400.
When the Hungarians brought Lower Austria
under their rule under Matthias Corvinus, Perchtoldsdorf was badly
affected and ownership changed often. The place only recovered under
Emperor Maximilian. The defense tower was completed and some town
houses that still exist today were built back then.
During
the first Turkish siege in 1529, the place itself was devastated,
but the residents were able to entrench themselves in the fortified
fortified church and got off lightly. It was not until the second
Turkish siege in 1683 that the market town, which had previously
been economically very weak, was hit hard. Almost the entire
population was murdered or driven out by the Ottoman troops. Only
slowly did the place recover.
For the period towards the end
of the 17th and the first half of the 18th century, a passion play
in Perchtoldsdorf with the subject of the outcast Ishmael is
documented, which is associated with influences from Vienna (1st
Book of Moses, Chapter 21, Verse 9 ff.). At the beginning of the
19th century, the previously rather Protestant place even became a
place of pilgrimage.
In the second half of the 19th century,
Perchtoldsdorf became a popular summer resort, and more and more
villas were built next to the vineyards, most of which are still
standing today. In 1860/1870 a cottage quarter was built in the
north-west of the community as planned. This trend continued into
the 20th century.
The food shortage after the end of World
War I hit the population hard. Help was provided by the ARA -
"American Relief Administration". In the winter of 1919/20, 70% of
Perchtoldsdorf children were malnourished, 47% were affected by skin
diseases, and almost 10% were suspected of having tuberculosis. On
July 8, 1919, a feeding point of the American relief mission (Child
Feeding Station Perchtoldsdorf) was opened in the school on
Leonhardiberg. One of its sponsors was the pediatrician Clemens von
Pirquet. About 500 children were fed via this feed for two years and
about 300 children were provided with clothes and shoes for almost
three years. The focus of the campaign was the serving of a daily
warm lunch according to the NEM system.
In 1938
Perchtoldsdorf was attached to "Greater Vienna" by the National
Socialist dictatorship. In 1946, Vienna and Lower Austria agreed
that the place should again belong to the state of Lower Austria.
The Soviet Union, as an occupying power, prevented this until 1954.
Then the 25th district of Vienna, to which the town had belonged,
was dissolved. Perchtoldsdorf was largely spared from damage in
World War II.
The commercial economy of Perchtoldsdorf was already very
differentiated in older times. Trades that were more represented in
terms of numbers were grouped into guilds – called "collieries" – such
as butchers, shoemakers, bakers, weavers, blacksmiths and binders. Their
"collieries" can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The "collieries"
developed a certain self-management in craft matters – chests were used
to store their documents and the cash register, some of which have been
preserved in Perchtoldsdorf and can be viewed in the local museum, which
was set up in the defensive tower. In addition to the artisan kitchens,
there were non-future trades, which were also important in
Perchtoldsdorf in the 18th and early 19th centuries. These include the
production of saltpeter, calico printing, production of cans and
oilcloth, candle production, brewery and vinegar production.
In
the north of the municipal area there are a number of quarries in the
valley of Kaltenleutgeben, in which the limestone found there is broken,
but also landfills (in abandoned quarries) are operated or have been
operated. This area has been extensively studied in a number of
geological publications due to its complicated geological structure.
Perchtoldsdorf is a wine village in the Lower Austrian thermal region
and as such is known for its wine taverns. The wine thrives so well in
Perchtoldsdorf because there is loess in the soil.
Wine is
produced in Perchtoldsdorf according to traditional methods, whereby the
wooden barrel made of oak (barrique) has played an important role since
1990. The winegrowing enterprises are small to medium-sized enterprises,
large enterprises and winegrowing cooperatives are lacking.
Only in recent decades, industrial enterprises have also settled in
the flat eastern part of the village. One of the oldest was the Austrian
branch of 3M, which moved to Meidling in January 2014. Other companies,
such as Stihl, also operate branches there, especially sales offices.
The headquarters of the Austrian fashion company Kleider Bauer is
also located near the Perchtoldsdorf train station. This employs more
than 1,000 people throughout Austria.
Road transport
The main roads are the Wiener Gasse (to Liesing),
the Donauwörther Straße (to Rodaun) and the Brunnergasse (to Brunn am
Gebirge), which connect Perchtoldsdorf with the neighboring communities.
The Donauwörther Straße runs largely on the route of the former tram
line 360. The Mühlgasse, which is also heavily frequented, leads through
the settlement area via the only southern railway bridge in
Perchtoldsdorf to the priority road B 12 (former federal road Brunner
Straße) to the motorway entrance of the Vienna outer ring motorway A 21
in Brunn am Gebirge. Perchtoldsdorf itself has no motorway connection.
In addition to an important access road to Perchtoldsdorf from the
area of industrial plants in the south of Vienna, the Ketzergasse on the
border with Vienna also forms a connection to the northwestern
settlement areas in the 23rd district of Vienna and in Kaltenleutgeben.
It was built in the years 2022/23 in the busy area between Brunner
Straße and Wiener Gasse incl. all installations for gas and water pipes
have been renewed and designed as an avenue with 70 new trees.
In
addition, there are several taxi companies that - with subsidies from
the municipality – offer discounted trips in the area of the village and
in surrounding areas. This is done with the Perchtoldsdorf card
(electronic version of the former P'card).
Rail
The southern
railway from Vienna to Wiener Neustadt runs through Perchtoldsdorf.
However, only trains of the S-Bahn lines S 2/S 3/S 4 stop at the stop.
On the northern outskirts of the village, the terminus of tram line
60 is located at the Vienna city limits. This route, which connected
Perchtoldsdorf with Hietzing, was formerly operated by the steam tramway
company Krauss & Comp. built on the basis of the concession of July 30,
1882 as a local railway (steam tramway), partly to be implemented as a
tram, solemnly tested on October 18, 1883 and opened on October 27,
1883, as the first steam tramway in Austria. Until further notice, nine
trains were used daily in each direction. Which, according to the
concession of 26. In March 1886 the line, which had been extended to
Mödling, was handed over to traffic on 12 May 1887.
After the
takeover of the line by the municipality of Vienna, on January 1, 1908,
the electrification of this so-called southern line was started
immediately, and already on August 7, 1912, the last steam-powered train
went to Mauer. Influenced by the war, the Mauer – Mödling line was
operated with steam tramway locomotives and sidecars until 1921. in
1920, the electrification of the line was started and was completed with
the opening ceremony on May 27, 1921: from now on, the line carried the
signal 360. (Until 1938, as well as from 1945 to 1963, the signal board
260 showed reinforcement trains that were pushed in to Perchtoldsdorf.)
Line 360/260 connected to line 60 of the Wiener Verkehrsbetriebe
(Wiener Linien). It first started in Mauer, from 24 November 1963 (due
to the extension of line 60) only in Rodaun and ran largely on its own
track outside of roads in Perchtoldsdorf.
In the years 1964 to
1966, the line was largely modernized; among other things, the
Perchtoldsdorf operating station was renovated in 1964, and the entire
track system on Mödlinger soil was rebuilt in 1966. Even during the
renovation work, there was talk of imminent cessation of operations,
first on January 1, 1967, then on May 1, 1967. — On November 30, 1967,
the tram line was closed due to political disputes over the financing of
the line (Lower Austria refused to contribute to this). After the
closure of the line, the Donauwörther Straße and some residential
buildings were built on the route. The track facilities in the area of
the 60s terminus were still visible in 2023. The dismantling of the line
after 1967 was described by the mayor of Perchtoldsdorf in 2017 as a
serious mistake, which should not be repeated in connection with the
Kaltenleutgebener Bahn.
The railway line Liesing–Kaltenleutgeben
(Kaltenleutgebener Bahn), opened in 1883, runs to more than 80 percent
on Perchtoldsdorf municipal territory. The railway line still exists
completely on the Perchtoldsdorf area, it was recently used only for
cement transport. The official decommissioning as a public railway took
place in 2013, the railway was then recognized as a connecting railway,
its land was leased by the market town of Perchtoldsdorf in 2015 and
acquired in 2017. The line only leads to the final station Waldmühle in
the former cement plant Holcim (formerly Lafarge Perlmooser) in
Kaltenleutgeben. Since 2017, it has been regularly visited by excursion
trains. The historic and listed station building of the
Liesing–Kaltenleutgeben railway line remained in original, but poor
condition for decades afterwards. It was only fundamentally renovated in
2021 in connection with the construction of a retirement home. The track
facilities of the station had already been dismantled in the 1990s
except for a through track, all switches and sidings were removed.
The relatively centrally located Perchtoldsdorf station on the
Liesing-Kaltenleutgeben railway was already the second station on
Perchtoldsdorf municipal territory: the first station was located far
from the town center, north of the Mühlgasse road bridge on the southern
Railway (see historical maps), opened in 1841 and closed again in 1883
after the construction of the Kaltenleutgebener Railway. The current
stop Perchtoldsdorf on the southern railway was created only after the
Second World War.
Bus transport
Perchtoldsdorf is connected to
all neighboring communities, the Wien-Liesing railway station and the
underground station in Siebenhirten by a bus network (mainly every 15 to
30 minutes during the day). Furthermore, a local bus and other buses
leave the municipal area.
Aviation
Perchtoldsdorf does not
have an airport. The place can be reached from Vienna-Schwechat Airport
by public transport via Vienna Central Station in about 60 to 90
minutes, by car via the Vienna Outer Ring expressway in about 30 to 45
minutes.
Trekking trails
In the west, starting at the
Perchtoldsdorf Heath, Perchtoldsdorf offers extensive hiking
opportunities in the Vienna Woods. The village is also the starting
point of long-distance hiking trails, such as the Nordalpenweg, a
long-distance hiking trail that leads to Lake Constance. Furthermore,
the Viennese Mariazellerweg starts here. The beginning of these paths at
the upper end of the Hyrtlgasse is marked with a monument.
Water supply
The Perchtoldsdorf water supply is based on springs
in the municipality on the one hand, and on the collection of springs in
the Kaltenleutgebnertal (Prießnitz and Vering springs) on the other.
Since 1907, the municipality has supplied itself with its own water
resources from eight wells and is not a member of a water association.
Perchtoldsdorf operates a water pipe network around 100 km long. Another
well drilling in Begrischpark on Leonhardiberg from 2022 proved
successful, and the water from its springs will be fed into the local
water pipe from October 2023. A production of 2000 m³ per day was
published in this context.
The I. Vienna high spring pipeline
runs through the city and also has an entry tower near the Rodaun
cemetery, but is not connected to the Perchtoldsdorf water supply.
Electricity and telephone
As far as the pipe network (landline)
is concerned, Perchtoldsdorf is part of the Vienna networks for
historical reasons. The power line network belongs to the Vienna
Networks, the telephone line network is part of the Telekom network
(formerly the postal network). These networks are used by all providers
of relevant services.
Gas
The gas line network in
Perchtoldsdorf belongs to Energieversorgung Niederösterreich (EVN) and
can also be used by all gas suppliers.