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| photo courtesy of meinbezirk.at |
Amstetten has been populated since prehistoric times, through the Roman settlement of the Danube (at one point, a fort dedicated to Jupiter stood in the area); Schloss Ulmerfeld, erected in 995, lies at about a 15 minute bus ride from Amstetten, and was at one point considered the seat of Amstetten...back when the ruling body came out of Passau. Amstetten was first known as "Passauer Markt Amstetten" in 1111, the date at which Amstetten was "founded."The town was protected by the bishop of Passau during the Ottoman-Habsburg wars, but nevertheless razed twice, once in 1509 and again in 1529, and basically abandoned from 1542. Later, a hospital was founded (around 1660). I am not sure if this is the same hospital that exists in the town now, and sometimes serves as doctor-training/residency facilities. If it is, I'm sure it's not the same building.
Amstetten wasn't much more than a market until 1858, when the Empress-Elisabeth-Rail was put into operation. That meant a direct train route from Vienna to Linz (currently still running, thank God) and easy access to other larger cities, including Salzburg, Munich, Budapest, etc. Also used by the Nazis, which unfortunately led to the bombing of Amstetten by the Russians. Which ruined most of the cool architecture. I, for one, continue to be outraged. In fact, another unfortunate news case for the city (after just getting over Frtizl, really!), Hitler was, up until very recently a citizen of honor in Amstetten, due mostly to oversight by past and present mayors and city council members. He is no longer.
Today, roughly 23,000 people live in Bezirk Amstetten (including the surrounding towns of Preinsbach, Allersdorf, Eisenreindornach, Greinsfurth,Viehdorf, Neufurth, Boxhofen, Ulmerfeld, and Pittersberg). The town of Amstetten has a population of circa 13,000.
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