Gmunden covers an area of 63.49 square kilometres (24.51 sq mi) and has a median elevation of 425 metres (1,394 ft). It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on the Traun River and is surrounded by high mountains, including the Traunstein (5,446 feet; 1,660 m), the Erlakogel (5,150 feet; 1,570 m), the Wilder Kogel (6,860 feet; 2,090 m) and the Höllengebirge.
The municipality of Gmunden is divided into five boroughs: Gmunden, Gmunden-Ort, Schlagen, Traundorf, and Unterm Stein.
As of 2001, Gmunden had a population of 13,336; Approximately 88.4% were Austrian by nationality, 1.5% are from other European Union states, and 10.2% are other foreigners. Largest non-EU minorities were from Bosnia and Herzegovina (3.6%) and the former FR Yugoslavia (i.e. present-day Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo; 2.7%), followed by Turks (1.2%) and Germans (1.1%).
In 1000 BCE the Illyrians were mining salt here.[4] A settlement was already in existence in the fifth century CE. By 1186 Gmunden was a fortified place surrounded by walls, although it did not receive a church until about 1300. In 1278 Gmunden became a town. On November 14, 1626, an army of rebellious peasants was completely defeated at Gmunden by General Pappenheim, who had been ordered by Maximilian I to suppress the peasant rebellion in Upper Austria.[5]
The dead peasant insurgents were buried in nearby Pinsdorf, where an obelisk styled memorial known as the Bauernhügel in their honour can still be seen.
Gmunden supplied naval ships to Austria during the 17th century and helped wounded soldiers in hospitals in World War I. During World War II, an SS maternity home was located here, "to insure racial purity" in accordance with Nazi racial theories.[6]
In later years, it was much frequented as a health and summer resort, and had a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydropathic establishment, inhalation chambers, whey cure, etc. It was also an important centre of the salt industry in Salzkammergut.[7]
Gmunden in the 16th century
Politics
The local council consists of 37 members. In the last municipal election in 2021, the following are seats won by the political parties:
16 ÖVP, 7 GRÜNE, 5 SPÖ, 5 FPÖ und 4 NEOS.
There are a great number of excursions and points of interest round Gmunden, notably the Traun Fall, 10 miles (16 km) north of Gmunden, a castle called Schloss Ort, and a ceramic factory producing Gmundner Keramik branded pottery. The town hall is also a popular tourist destination.
Education
In Gmunden there are four kindergartens, four elementary schools and three Hauptschulen. The three high schools are BG/BRG Gmunden, BRG Schloss Traunsee, and Gymnasium Ort.
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