The health resort Bad Waltersdorf is a market town with 3834
inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the judicial district of
Fürstenfeld and in the political district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in
Styria.
As part of the Styrian community structural reform in
Styria, it has been merged with the community of Sebersdorf since
2015, the new community continues the name of Marktgemeinde Bad
Waltersdorf. The basis for this is the Styrian Municipal Structural
Reform Act - StGsrG. Furthermore, the new municipality was expanded
to include the cadastral municipality of Oberlimbach from the
neighboring municipality of Limbach bei Neudau.
Church of St. Margaret
St. Margaret's Church is located in the
immediate vicinity of the main train station in the spa town of Bad
Waltersdorf.
The first church building was built here a very
long time ago - back in 1170, but at the moment there is nothing
left of the medieval building. The church was completely rebuilt in
the years 1689-1690. It is interesting that the architect of the
building was Domenico Orsolino, a famous military engineer who
restored many medieval defensive forts, including those on the
territory of modern Italy.
The church itself is a typical
Baroque structure, painted in a delicate peach color and covered
with a red tile roof. The architectural ensemble is complemented by
a high bell tower with a clock, topped with a typical onion dome,
common in Austria and southern Germany. The church was consecrated
in honor of Saint Margaret of Antioch.
The interior of the
church is decorated in a Baroque style and dates back to the first
half of the 18th century. Around the same time, the main altar was
made by the famous Austrian artist Johann Hackhofer, who painted
many Austrian churches and monasteries. He also worked mainly in the
Baroque style.
Near the altar, it is also worth noting the
elaborately decorated pulpit and the balcony where the organ, made
after the Second World War, in 1957, is located. And under the
balcony there is an amazing ancient painting depicting the wheel of
fortune. It dates back to the XIV century.
The church is open
for tourist visits from 8 am to 6 pm daily, with the exception of
religious holidays. It is also worth noting that archaeological
excavations are underway in the courtyard of the church, where
traces of ancient Roman stone buildings are presented.
The local area was already settled in Roman times; some of the
numerous finds from this period are exhibited in the small Roman
museum near the parish church. This settlement disappeared in the
course of the great migration. From the 6th century, the Slovenes
settled in the Eastern Alps (Carantania); around Bad Waltersdorf
they only left traces in the field names (for example, “Safen” means
“Froschbach”).
After the area had been deserted for a long
time and repeatedly came under different rule, the colonization of
Eastern Styria did not begin again until around 1125. The area of
today's Bad Waltersdorf was in the possession of the high free or
noble Walter von der Traisen, a descendant of Aribo II, who founded
the village here and immortalized himself in his name. Waltersdorf
was mentioned in a document for the first time in 1170.
In
the course of the following centuries there were often invasions by
the Hungarians and the Turks, but also by the Haidukes and Kuruzen,
whereby a large part of the place was repeatedly destroyed, the last
time in 1704.
Waltersdorf has always been the largest town
between the cities of Hartberg and Fürstenfeld, was the seat of an
original parish and later a deanery. The structure of Waltersdorf
was purely agricultural from its foundation until the 19th century,
but then slowly began to change. Industry and trade developed (e.g.
through up to four markets per year), which increased the economic
importance. This development established the survey of the market
community in 1928.
The solidarity of the residents with the
church was so strong even during the time of National Socialism that
in 1939 there was a demonstration of around 200 people against the
anti-church measures of the Gauleiter. Towards the end of the Second
World War, inner-German refugees from Germany and Yugoslavia were
quartered in Waltersdorf. When the retreating German army camped in
Waltersdorf, there was a Russian air raid, which caused considerable
damage. Coincidentally, the capitulation on May 8, 1945 coincided
with the time when the advancing Russian troops reached Waltersdorf.
On August 1, the British replaced the Russian occupation.
In
the state elections in November 1945, a total of 97 residents in
today's municipal area were not eligible to vote because of
membership in the NSDAP.
In the post-war period, the road
network was expanded, which at that time was hardly paved; In 1959
the elementary school moved from the parish hall to its present
location.
On January 1, 1968, the local parishes of
Wagerberg, Leitersdorf and Hohenbrugg were combined with Waltersdorf
to form one large parish. In the following years the secondary
school, the kindergarten, the outdoor pool and other sports
facilities were opened.
In 1975 the crude oil exploration
company began drilling, which did not find oil, but thermal water at
a depth of 1,150 m. Initially, the thermal spring was used to supply
heat: In 1981, the first geothermal district heating supply system
in Austria was opened, which was mainly used to heat the schools,
the outdoor swimming pool and a test glass house. With the opening
of the thermal baths in 1984, tourism began to grow rapidly; a trend
that continues to the present day. In 1987 the spa park was designed
with a pond and playground.
By a decision of the Styrian
state government of October 11, 1988, the market town of Waltersdorf
in Eastern Styria was renamed the market town of Bad Waltersdorf,
which officially became a health resort. In the same year, the site
was also redesigned, in which the old whip lights were replaced by
new lanterns and the asphalt pavement in the center of the village
was replaced by natural stone slabs.
Geographical location
Bad Waltersdorf is halfway between the
district capital Hartberg and Fürstenfeld, in the middle of the
Eastern Styrian hill country in the Safental, not far from the
border with Burgenland.
Community structure
The
municipality includes the following ten localities (residents as of
January 1, 2020):
Bad Waltersdorf (1065) with Buchgraben and
Waltersdorfberg
Geier (223) with Harras, Schmiedböck, Vogelsang
and Voitmann
Hohenbrugg (179)
Leitersdorf near Hartberg (556)
with Buchgreith, Leitersdorfberg and Sauberg
Lichtenwald (58)
Neustift near Sebersdorf (174)
Oberlimbach (96)
Rohrbach near
Waltersdorf (282) with Haller and Wagenhals
Sebersdorf (741) with
Edelsberg, Großhaide, Sebersdorfberg, Steinfeld and Untermayerhofen
Wagerberg (460) with Hinterfeld, Sonntagsberg and Wagerberg
The community consists of the eight cadastral communities
Hohenbrugg, Leitersdorf, Neustift, Oberlimbach, Rohrbach bei
Waltersdorf, Sebersdorf, Wagerberg and Waltersdorf and covers 52.13
km².