Schwechat

Schwechat (German pronunciation: [ˈʃvɛçaːt]) is a town southeast of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. The city is home to the refineries of to the Austrian national oil company OMV.

Geography

Schwechat is named after the river Schwechat, which flows through the center of town. The city subdivisions called Katastralgemeinde (Cadastre) are Kledering, Mannswörth, Rannersdorf and Schwechat.

Population

History

Home to the settlement Ala Nova of the Roman Empire, the city was first mentioned in a document in 1334. The meeting at Schwechat of Emperor Leopold I with Jan Sobieski in 1683, after the liberation of Vienna, is commemorated by an obelisk. The imperial troops defeated the Hungarian insurgents in a battle fought here in October 1848.

In 1724, a textile factory was established in Schwechat. Schwechat profited massively from the Austrian industrialisation wave of the 19th century, many of the companies established then still existing today (like the brewery). Schwechat became a city in 1924 and was incorporated into Vienna in 1938. The city's oil refinery was a bombing target of the Allied Oil Campaign of World War II, with the southern aviation plant complex of the Heinkel firm also targeted in late 1943 and lasting through the spring of 1944.

Schwechat (river)

The Schwechat is a river in Austria.

Part of it forms St Helena's Valley (Helenental or Helenenthal), named for the parish church of St Helena (Pfarrkirche St Helena) about 2 miles (3 km) from Baden. Originally gothic, it's since been replaced by a baroque structure.

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

Coordinates: 48°08′15″N 16°33′37″E / 48.1375°N 16.5603°E / 48.1375; 16.5603