Klosterneuburg

Klosterneuburg
Coat of arms	Location
Administration
Country	Austria
State	Lower Austria
District	Wien-Umgebung
Mayor	Gottfried Schuh (ÖVP)
Basic statistics
Area	76.2 km2 (29.4 sq mi)
Elevation	192 m  (630 ft)
Population	25,124  (31 December 2005)
- Density	330 /km² (854 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	WU
Postal codes	340x
Area code	02243
Website	www.klosterneuburg.at Coordinates: 48°18′15″N 16°19′00″E / 48.30417°N 16.316667°E / 48.30417; 16.316667

Klosterneuburg is a city in Lower Austria, Austria with a population of 24,442.

It is located on the Danube, immediately north of Vienna, from which it is separated by the Kahlenberg and the Leopoldsberg. It has been separated by its twin city of Korneuburg on the other side of the Danube since the river changed its course during the Middle Ages.

Klosterneuburg was founded by Margrave Leopold III and developed in conjunction with its famous monastery. Leopold III and later Leopold VI (the latter only during part of his reign) had their residences there. From 1938 to 1954, it constituted the 26th district of Vienna. Today, it is a site of industry and a suburb of Vienna. The well-known Essl Museum of contemporary art is also on display in the town.

The Klosterneuburg Monastery, the existence of which was first documented in 1108 and soon after was given to the Augustinians, is of particular historical importance.

History

In Roman times the castle of Citium stood in the region of Klosterneuburg. The town was founded by Charlemagne, and received its charter as a town in 1298.

As an important pioneer station Klosterneuburg has various military buildings and stores, and among the schools there is the Federal Institute for Viticulture and Pomology, where the Zweigelt and Blauburger wine grapes were bred by Dr Fritz Zweigelt.

In 2006 the Institute of Science and Technology Austria was established. The institute for outstanding basic research is going to be put into action within the next years.

Geography

Klosterneuburg, 5 1/2 m. N.W. of Vienna by rail. Pop. (1900), 11,595. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, at the foot of the Kahlenberg, and is divided by a small stream into an upper and a lower town.

On a hill rising directly from the banks of the Danube stand the magnificent buildings (erected 1730–1834) of the Augustine canonry, founded in 1114 by the Margrave (Saint) Leopold III, a Babenberg and the patron saint of Austria. This order "die Chorherren" is one of the oldest and richest of its kind in Austria; it owns much of the land upon which the north-western suburbs of Vienna stand. Among the points of interest within it are the old chapel of 1318, with Leopold's tomb and the Verdun Altar, dating from the 12th century, the treasury and relic-chamber, the library with 30,000 volumes and many MSS., the picture gallery, the collection of coins, the theological hall, and the winecellar, containing an immense tun like that at Heidelberg. There are some excellent vintners in Klosterneuburg, but today the city is tightly linked to Vienna and houses some of the most affluent citizens of Lower Austria.

Klosterneuburg commemorative coin

See also

• Klosterneuburg was recently selected as a main motif for a high value collectors' coin: the Klosterneuburg commemorative coin. The obverse shows a view of the abbey from the slopes of the Leopoldsberg in the Alps. The Romanesque-Gothic basilica as well as the copper dome with the imperial crown can be seen.
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Klosterneuburg

• Informations and links concerning Klosterneuburg
• 360°-Panoramas from Gerhard Edl
• Institute of Science and Technology Austria
• Essl Museum of Contemporary Art

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