Mauerbach

Mauerbach is a town on the western boundary of Vienna, Austria.

Mauerbach
Monastery church and prelate court
Coat of arms
Mauerbach Location within Austria
Coordinates: 48°14′30″N 16°10′35″E
Country	Austria
State	Lower Austria
District	Sankt Pölten-Land
Government
• Mayor	Peter Buchner (ÖVP)
Area [1]
• Total	20.32 km2 (7.85 sq mi)
Elevation	282 m (925 ft)
Population  (2018-01-01)[2]
• Total	3,661
• Density	180/km2 (470/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	1140, 3001, 3400
Area code	01/979, 01/577
Vehicle registration	PL
Website	www.mauerbach.gv.at

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1971	1,576	—
1981	2,227	+41.3%
1991	3,222	+44.7%
2001	3,415	+6.0%

Sights

It hosts the summer houses of many rich Viennese families as well as Mauerbach Charterhouse (Kartause Mauerbach), a Carthusian monastery founded in 1313, closed in 1782.

Sport

The village is also home to association football team SC Mauerbach, who play in Austria's lower leagues.

Recent times

Since 2017 the town belongs to the district of St. Pölten. It was formerly in Wien-Umgebung which was dissolved in 2016.^[3][4]

Nazi looted art depot

In 1985, 496 paintings, 146 drawings, watercolors, prints and sculptures and thousands of books and other items that the Allies had recovered after World War II and turned over to the Austrian authorities so that they could return them to their rightful owners were found to be still stored in Mauerbach.^[5] Visits had not been allowed and the list had not been published.^[6] Investigative news articles revealed the cache of artworks and caused a scandal.^[7]

References

1. "Dauersiedlungsraum der Gemeinden Politischen Bezirke und Bundesländer - Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
2. "Einwohnerzahl 1.1.2018 nach Gemeinden mit Status, Gebietsstand 1.1.2018". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
3. "Bezirk Wien Umgebung wird aufgelöst". 10 September 2015.
4. "Wien-Umgebung: Aufteilung geändert", artikel in Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (NÖN.at), 24-9-2015
5. Schneider, Pierre (1985-01-01). "AUSTRIA OPENS ART CACHE CONFISCATED BY NAZIS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
6. Hochfield, Sylvia (2007-11-01). "Top Ten ARTnews Stories: Making a Difference". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-02-11. Decker revealed that the Austrian government had made only the most halfhearted efforts to return looted cultural property to its rightful owners. A list of the artworks hidden in the Mauerbach monastery hadn't even been published until 1959, and then it appeared in a small newspaper not widely circulated outside of Austria. Very few legitimate claimants saw the list, and if they did happen to see it and make an attempt to regain their lost property, they were unlikely to succeed.
7. Esterow, Milton (2002-11-01). "Reflections on Three Decades at the Helm of ARTnews". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-02-11. In December 1984, following an eight-month investigation, Decker published the first of what would prove to be more than two dozen articles on the subject written by him and other ARTnewswriters in the United States and Europe. The articles revealed neglect, ineptitude, and questionable legal maneuvers on the part of Austrian government officials since the end of World War II.