Gmunden

is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden District. It has 13,202 inhabitants (estimates 2004). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of goat, lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydropathic establishment, inhalation chambers, whey cure, etc. It is also an important centre of the salt industry in Salzkammergut.

Geography
Gmunden covers an area of 63.49 km² and has a median height of 425 m. It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on the Traun River and is surrounded by high mountains, as the Traunstein (mountain) (5446 ft.), the Erlakogel (5150 ft.), the Wilder Kogel (6860 ft.) and the Höllengebirge.

Municipal arrangement
Gmunden is divided into the following boroughs: Gmunden, Gmunden-Ort, Schlagen, Traundorf, Unterm Stein.

Demographics
As of 2001, Gmunden has a population of 13,336. Of that, 88.4% are Austrian in nationality, 1.5% are from other European Union states, and 10.2% are other foreigners. Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina (3.6%) and the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2.7%) placed the strongest foreigner portion, followed by Turks (1.2%) and Germans (1.1%).

The majority (69.3%) confess themselves to the Roman Catholic Church. Evangelicals are next, which 7.3% of the population associate with. 5.9% are Muslims and 3.3% are Orthodox. 10.3% are nonreligious.

History
A settlement was in existence already in the fifth century AC. By 1186 Gmunden was a fortified town surrounded by walls, although it did not receive a church until about 1300. 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. 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 battleships 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.

Politics
The local council consists of 37 members. Since 2003 the members are from the following political parties:


 * ÖVP: 19 seats
 * SPÖ: 11 seats
 * Die Grünen: 4 seats
 * FPÖ: 3 seats

Since 1997 the mayor has been Heinz Köppl of the ÖVP.

Main sights
There are a great number of excursions and points of interest round Gmunden, specially worth mentioning being the Traun Fall, 10 mi north of Gmunden, a castle called Schloss Ort, and a ceramic factory producing Gmunden Keramik branded pottery. The town hall is also a popular tourist destination.

Education
In Gmunden there are four kindergartens, four elementary schools and three hauptschule. The three high schools are BG/BRG Gmunden, BRG Schloss Traunsee, and Gymnasium Ort.

People

 * Caspar Erasmus Duftschmid, born here
 * Heinrich Schiff, cellist and conductor, born here
 * Duchess Maria Amalia of Württemberg, born here; see Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
 * Johannes von Gmunden
 * Andreas Berger, born here
 * Princess Marie Louise of Hanover, born here
 * Princess Alexandra of Hanover (1882–1963), born at the Schloss Ort
 * Prince Otto Heinrich of Hanover, born here
 * Prince George William of Hanover (1880–1912), born here
 * Prince Christian Oscar of Hanover, born here
 * Prince Welf Henry of Hanover, born here

Famous residents

 * Thomas Bernhard, playwright and novelist
 * George V of Hanover, exiled here
 * Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, exiled and died here
 * Princess Thyra of Denmark, lived and died here
 * Princess Marie of Hanover, lived and died here
 * Ludwig Bemelmans, grew up here
 * Gabi Burgstaller, went to high school
 * Walter Reder, buried here
 * Betty Haag, lived near here as a professor
 * Jory Vinikour, lived as a teacher at the Austrian Baroque Academy of Gmunden
 * Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, exiled and died here
 * Princess Frederica of Hanover, lived here
 * Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, married here
 * Christoph Ransmayr, grew up near here
 * Carl Rahl, lived here
 * Christian Griepenkerl, lived here
 * John Haswell, worked here
 * Horaz Krasnopolski, died here
 * Matthias von Schönerer, worked here
 * Prince Christian of Hanover (1885–1901), died here
 * Count Richard Belcredi, died here
 * Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria, died here
 * Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies, died here
 * Princess Olga of Hanover (1884–1958), lived and died here
 * Alexandra, Princess of Leiningen, married here
 * Prince Ludwig Rudolph of Hanover, died here