ÖSTERREICH | AUSTRIA |
Bundesland: Niederösterreich | Lower Austria |
Bezirk: Mödling |
The district town Mödling is situated at an elevation of 246 m on the river Mödling. Medilihha was first mentioned in a document already in AD 903. From around 1177 it was the seat of a collateral line of the Babenbergs (Heinrich von Mödling, followed by his son of the same name, known as "Duke of Mödling"). Mödling (Medlich) became a market town in 1343. The town was destroyed by the Turks in 1529 and in 1683. Until the 19th century it was a mainly wine-growing region. From the time between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the Austrian Revolution (1848) onward, it became a popular summer tourist resort and place of residence of many Viennese artists, like Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Franz Grillparzer and Ferdinand Raimund. Mödling obtained the status of a city in 1875. Between 1938 and 1954 Mödling was part of Vienna (Groß-Wien, Greater Vienna, 24th district).
The parish church Sankt Othmar [left, no. 4658: left, and below, no. 203: background] was built in late Gothic style
in 1454–1523. It is already the 7th church on this place (the first dated from the 10th century).
After its destruction by the Turks in 1529, it was partly restored but destroyed again by the Turks in 1683. From 1690–1760 it was restored again,
this time in Baroque style. In 1875–1897 it was renovated and remodelled in Classicist and Neo-Gothic style. The last renovation took place in 1982.
The Town Hall [left, no. 203: left] was built in Renaissance style in 1548.
The Trinity column [near left, no. 520: centre] dates from 1714 and was built in gratitude that only 22 inhabitants of Mödling died of the plague in 1713.
The square, on the glass named Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Platz (for Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria),
is called Freiheitsplatz (Liberty square) today.
The Black Tower [near left, no. 2289: top left picture],
located at the border between the municipalities of Mödling and Maria Enzersdorf,
is an artificial ruin, built in 1809 by Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein on the remainders of an old guard house.
Today, the structure is privately owned and is not open to the public.
Liechtenstein castle, shown in the top right part of the picture on glass no. 2289 [near left], is actually located within the municipaliy of Maria Enzersdorf and therefore is described there.
The k.u.k. Technische Militär-Akademie (Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy) [bottom part of the picture] was built in 1869. The academy, formerly located in the Stiftskaserne (Stift Barracks) in Vienna, moved here in 1904 and was opened on the 4th of November of that year in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Today, the complex is home to the Higher Technical School (HTL) Mödling. With some 3,400 students and some 400 teachers it is currently the largest technical school in Europe.
A castle with a similar name, Lichtenstein castle, is located in the municipality of Lichtenstein, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.