Landshut

Landshut (Bavarian: Landsad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the surrounding district, and with a population of more than 60,000. Landshut is the largest city in Lower Bavaria, followed by Passau and Straubing, and Eastern Bavaria's second biggest city.

Owing to its characteristic coat of arms, the town is also often called "Three Helmets City" (German: Dreihelmenstadt). Furthermore, the town is popularly known for the Landshuter Hochzeit (Landshut Wedding), a full-tilt medieval festival.

Due to its proximity and easy access to Munich and the Franz Josef Strauss International Airport, Landshut became a powerful and future-oriented investment area. The town is one of the richest industrialized towns in Bavaria and has East Bavaria's lowest unemployment rate (ca. 1.1% in October 2013), which represents full employment.

Lufthansa Flight 181

Lufthansa Flight 181 was a Boeing 737–230 Adv aircraft named Landshut that was hijacked on 13 October 1977, by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who called themselves Commando Martyr Halima. The objective of the hijacking was to secure the release of imprisoned Red Army Faction leaders. On 18 October, the aircraft was stormed by the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9 in Mogadishu, Somalia, and all 86 passengers rescued. The rescue operation was codenamed Feuerzauber (German term for "Fire Magic"). The hijacking is considered to be part of the German Autumn.

Lufthansa crew

Two flight crew and three cabin crew operated the round-trip flight from Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca:

Key German rescue personnel

Hijacking

At 11.00 am on Thursday 13 October 1977, Lufthansa flight LH 181, a Boeing 737 named Landshut, took off from Palma de Mallorca en route to Frankfurt with 86 passengers and five crew, piloted by Jürgen Schumann, with co-pilot Jürgen Vietor at the controls. About 30 minutes later, as it passed over Marseilles, the aircraft was hijacked by four militants calling themselves "Commando Martyr Halima" – in honour of fellow militant Brigitte Kuhlmann, who had been killed in Operation Entebbe the previous year. Their leader was a Palestinian named Zohair Youssif Akache (23, male), who adopted the alias "Captain Martyr Mahmud". The other three were Suhaila Sayeh (22, female) a Palestinian, Wabil Harb (23, male) and Hind Alameh (22, female) who were both Lebanese. Akache (Mahmud) burst into the cockpit with a loaded pistol in his hand and ordered Vietor to join the passengers, leaving Schumann to take over the flight controls. Mahmud ordered Schumann to fly to Larnaca in Cyprus but was told that they had insufficient fuel and would have to land in Rome first.

Landshut (district)

Landshut is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Kelheim, Straubing-Bogen, Dingolfing-Landau, Rottal-Inn, Mühldorf, Erding and Freising. The city of Landshut is enclosed by, but does not belong to the district. It is nonetheless its administrative seat.

History

The city of Landshut was founded in 1204 by the ruling Wittelsbach family of Bavaria. Since then the region has always been a part of Bavaria.

The present district was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Landshut, Rottenburg and Vilsbiburg and adding some municipalities of surrounding districts.

Geography

The district comprises plain countryside on both banks of the Isar river.

Economy

Many residents work at the Dingolfing BMW (formerly Glas) car plant which expanded massively during the 1970s. Others commute daily to Munich, which is about 46 miles (74 km) to the southwest.

The first research nuclear power plant at Niederaichbach was torn down and returned to greenfield status in 1995. Two other nuclear reactors, known as Isar I and Isar II, in the Essenbach district remain operational: nuclear power generation remains a significant local employer.