Mödling is a municipality in, and the capital of, the eponymous Austrian district ("Bezirk") and located at 48°05′08″N 16°16′59″E / 48.08556°N 16.28306°E / 48.08556; 16.28306Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function, approximately 14 km south of the centre of Vienna. On May 15 2001 it had 23,288 inhabitants. It occupies an area of 9.95 km².

Mödling lies in Niederösterreich's industrial zone. The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises in the Wienerwald, flows through the town. Near Achau it joins with the Schwechat. Woodland occupies a large part of the municipality, being part of the 'Föhrenberge'.

The settlement dates back to the Neolithic. In medieval times, the town was the residence of a branch of the Babenberger family, as a result of which it received the nickname Babenbergerstadt - i.e., 'Town of the Babenbergers'. Through the ages, the name of the town evolved from Medilihha to Medelikch, Medling and, finally, Mödling. Today there is a small old town with a pedestrian area.

Located immediately south of Vienna, and within the boundaries of the district of Mödling, is one of the largest shopping centres in Europe: Shopping City Süd (SCS). It opened in 1976, and occupies an area of approximately 270,000 m². There are more than 330 shops, employing some 4500 staff.

The SCS offers 10,000 parking spaces, and attracts customers not only from Austria, but also from various Eastern European countries, such as Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In 2004, the SCS had about 25 million customers.

Geography

The slopes of the 'Wienerwald' grow vine, the area is called 'Thermenregion'. You find numerous 'Heurige'.

Wiener Neudorf, east, and Maria Enzersdorf, west, directly 'flow' into Mödling. South of Mödling is Gumpoldskirchen, separated by the 'Eichkogel', with a very special flora. In the west a narrow street through Vorderbrühl, formally a village in its own rights, leads to Hinterbrühl. This narrow valley is called Klausen, above it the remains of the Mödling castle, once belonging to the Babenberger, the then ruling family. On the other side of the Klausen the Kalenderberg, with the castle of Liechtenstein on its reverse side. The beginning of the Klausen is marked by the large brick-laid aqueduct of the 'Erste Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung'. The steep rocks grow the typical 'Wienerwald Schwarzföhren'.

History

Traces of first settlements from the Neolithicum were found, of the Hallstatt culture on the Kalenderberg, Roman coins and a tomb near todays railway station.

After Charlemagne's victory in 803 AD against the 'Awaren', a people coming from the East, settlers from todays Bavaria came. About 500 graves from the Awaren were found in the area of the 'Goldenen Stiege' (very close to todays old city).

The first ancient document mentioning 'MEDILIHHA ULTRA MONTEM COMMIGENIUM' is dated September 8th 903, when two bishops (of the then Roman-Catholic church) exchanged lands. In 907 the settlement seems however to have been destroyed again. After the battle on the 'Lechfeld' settlement in the area of todays Mödling started again.

After this for some time Mödling housed a relative of the then ruling 'Babenberger' family. Hence their castle's ruin. 1177 AD Henry the Elder, son of Henry II. Jasomirgott, became landlord in an area reaching from Liesing to Piesting and Bruck. You can read this in old documents kept in the nearby monastery of Heiligenkreuz. In Henry's days arts and culture dominated in the castle of Mödling, the famous minnesinger Walther von der Vogelweide stayed there more than once. The Spitalkirche and todays St. Othmar were built in the 15th century, the Karner (charnel house) in the 12th.

Already in those days Mödling grew vine, next to Langenlois it was the largest vine grwoing community in Niederösterreich.

Duke Albrecht II. in 1343 granted the rights of a 'Market' to Mödling.

1529 AD the turks devastated Mödling the first time. 1679 many citizens died of the Black Death. When the turks came again in 1693 almost all citizens of Mödling were killed. The second epidemic of the Black Death only broght death to 22 inhabitants, hence the survivers build the monument of the Holy Trinity (Dreifaltigkeits oder Pestsäule am Freiheitsplatz).

On November 18th 1875 Mödling became 'City'.

1938, when Austria lost its identity in the 'Third Reich', Mödling became part of the 24th District of Vienna. Not before 1954 it bacame independant and part of Niederösterreich again.

To remember the murdered victims of the NS-regime, amongst them Sr Restituta, Gunter Demnig, a presentdays German artist, put 'Stolpersteine' into the pavement in front of the places whiche housed the victims.

Also see history of Niederösterreich, and history of the Wienerwald.

Todays name of Mödling

From medilihha to Medelikch and Medling to todays Mödling. The traces go back to old Slavic and mean 'slowly running water'.

Population

1971	1981	2001
18.835	19.276	20.290

Source: Bevölkerungsentwicklung 1869-2001, Statistik Austria (http://www.statistik.at/blickgem/blick1/g31717.pdf)

Politics

Election	ÖVP ('Conservatives')	SPÖ ('Labour')	Grüne ('Green')	WfM (Wir für Mödling, formaly Liste Pepi Wagner')	FPÖ (Nationalistic)	LIF ('Liberals')	M 2000 (Mödling 2000)
2005	18	12	7	2	2	--	--
2000	15	10	5	5	4	1	1
1995	16	8	2	7	4	4	--
1990	17	11	1	10	2	--	--

Traffic

The Südbahn runs right through the city, this is a fast connection to Vienna. Buses go into all directions.

The entry/exit to motorway A2 is near, it also leads to the SCS (Shopping Center South).

You pay for parking via m-parking.

Of historical interest is the first electrical tram from Mödling to Hinterbrühl, also the tram number 360, which ran from Mödling via Maria Enzersdorf, Brunn am Gebirge und Perchtoldsdorf to Vienna/Rodaun.

Economy

In the old days, because of the rail-connection to the North/Vienna and the South, several large industries had their plants here. Today most of the firms are SMEs. The large ones moved to Wiener Neudorf in das 'Industriezentrum Niederösterreich Süd'.

Culture and Sights

The well preserved and revitalized Old City is protected by the 'Haag Convention'. The town hall holds the registry office. Because of the lovely envoronment many couples chose to marry here. Schrannenplatz and Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Straße in 1976 became a very early pedestrian area, the first time a 'Bundesstraße' had been declared a pedestrian area.

The Eichkogel is a nearby nature reservoir, with rare flora, like 'Knollen-Brandkraut' (phlomis tuberosa) and others, on 'Halbtrockenrasen'. Also the rocks in the Klausen grow rare plants, like the Mödlinger Federnelke (dianthus plumarius subsp. neilreichii), which was found as late as in the middle of the 19th century by the botanist August Neilreich, or the Deutsche Alant (inula germanica).

Theater

Stadttheater
Bühne Mayer
Mödlinger Puppenkiste (MÖP)
Theater im Bunker (in a former anti-aircraft-tunnel in Vorderbrühl)
Komödienspiele (summer plays in the Stadttheater)

Museums

Museum Mödling
Volkskundemuseum
Stadtverkehrsmuseum
Essinger-Haus (where a famous painter used to live)
Beethoven-Gedenkstätte
Schönberghaua

Buildings

St. Othmar church and charnel
Spitalkirche
ruins of the Mödling castle
Husarentempel on the top of the 'Kleine Anninger'
Schwarzer Turm
Amphitheater

Schools

Elementary and Secondary Schools
Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Franz-Keim-Gasse
Bundesgymnasium und wirtschaftskundliches Bundesrealgymnasium Untere Bachgasse
Höhere Technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt
Vienna Business School Mödling, Handelsakademie der Wiener Kaufmannschaft
Höhere Lehranstalt für Mode & Bekleidungstechnik oder Produktmanagement & Präsentation
Beethoven Musikschule
Chorschule der Sängerknaben vom Wienerwald
Volkshochschule
Polytechnische Schule

Institutions

Bezirkshauptmannschaft
Finanzamt
Bezirksgericht
Veterenärmedizinisches Institut, with importance over and above the area of Mödling

Famous citizens

(Blessed) Maria Restituta, nun and nurse
Josef Schöffel, mayor, 'Retter des Wienerwaldes'

Paul Harather, director, producer, author
Michael Jursa, Teacher and researcher in Orientalism
Alfred Maleta, politician, president of the austrian parliament ('House of Commons')
Albert Drach, poet
Robert Eder, local history, ornithologist
Hermann Ullrich, composer and musical writer
Anton Wildgans, poet

Twin Towns

Web links