Passau - all information about the location, the economy, the sights and the politics of the independent university city in the Free State of Bavaria, which is also known as the city of three rivers.
Passau
describes a
city
and a
district of
the
same name
in the administrative district of Lower Bavaria in the German state of Bavaria.
A special feature of Passau is the
location of
the old town on a peninsula that extends between the Danube and the Inn.
The university town of Passau can look back on an eventful
history
, which today is
testified
by numerous
sights
.
Passau - The independent city is located in the east of the German Free State of Bavaria on the border with Austria.
With 53,000 inhabitants, Passau represents the second largest city in the Lower Bavaria administrative district.
Due to its location at the confluence of the Danube, Ilz and Inn rivers, it is also called the Three Rivers City.
Passau - location and inhabitants of the city and district
The city and the district of Passau are located in Eastern Bavaria, in the administrative district of Lower Bavaria.
The district expands with 192,656 inhabitants (as of 2019) to 1,530.29 square kilometers.
It borders the districts of Rottal-Inn, Deggendorf and Freyung-Grafenau and the Austrian state of Upper Austria;
It encloses the independent city of Passau in a semicircle.
With 52,803 inhabitants (as of 2019), it covers an area of 69.57 square kilometers.
It is divided into eight districts of a statistical nature and has ten districts.
In 2013 there was a division into 16 citizens' assembly areas.
Passau - from its origins to city law
Thanks to its location on three rivers, Passau was already settled in the Latène period.
This is indicated by a Celtic settlement that was found in the area of the old town hall.
The current name of the city is probably derived from mercenaries of the Germanic Batavian tribe.
They were stationed in the Roman border fort Batavis, which was located with an attached trading center in the area of today's old town.
In the 1st century the Boiodurum fort was built on the right bank of the Inn.
As part of the Limes, it belonged to the Roman province of Raetia.
In the 6th century the Bavarians took possession of the area and built a ducal castle on the peninsula.
The Niedernburg monastery was founded in 739.
The office of abbess was held by the sister of
Emperor
Heinrich II
.
This transferred the secular rule over the city in 999 to
Bishop Christian von Passau
.
From 1078 to 1099 the Burgraviate of Passau replaced the rule of the bishops.
Heinrich IV
had given
Count Ulrich von Passau
the right to rule;
after his death they reverted to the bishops again.
In 1161,
Emperor
Friedrich I Barbarossa gave
the Niedernburg monastery to the then bishop;
In 1217 it became the seat of the Principality of Passau.
At that time, the Passau blacksmith trade was important.
When
Passau
was granted city rights in 1225, the city was a prince-bishopric with considerable prosperity.
Passau - its history in modern times
Between 1535 and 1540, imprisoned Anabaptists in the dungeon of Passau Castle wrote the core collection of the "Ausbunds", which is the oldest hymn book of Protestantism.
In 1552, the Passau Treaty paved the way for the Augsburg Imperial and Religious Peace of 1555.
The Philosophical-Theological College was built between 1622 and 1633.
In 1662
Passau
was completely destroyed by fire.
The Italian builders
Giovanni Battista Carlone
and
Carlo Lurago
rebuilt the
city
and gave it its current appearance.
In 1802, the secularization of Bavaria ended Passau's time as a prince-bishopric.
The city was annexed to the Electorate of Salzburg for three years and became part of Bavaria in 1805.
From 1806 to 1839 Passau was the capital of the Lower Danube District, the forerunner of the later administrative district of Lower Bavaria.
In 1821 the city became a bishopric again.
The railway line to Straubing was opened in 1860, and in 1927 the Kachlet Danube power plant, Germany's largest power plant to date, went into operation.
Passau - Milestones in the 20th and 21st centuries
The Nibelungenhalle was built in Passau from 1934 to 1935;
In 1935 a unit of the Austrian Legion was stationed here.
From 1942 to 1945 there was a satellite camp of the Dachau concentration camp in Passau.
In 1945, the incumbent mayor Carl Sittler handed the city over to an infantry regiment that was subordinate to the US-American General Stanley Eric Reinhart.
In 1952 the Festival European Weeks in Passau took place for the first time.
They have established themselves as the largest cultural festival in the three-country region of Eastern Bavaria, Upper Austria and Bohemia.
The Passau-Ingling hydropower plant was completed in 1965, and the Oberilzmühle power plant was expanded at the same time.
In 1978 Passau became a university town.
In 1980, the city received the European Prize for its efforts towards European integration.
In 1993, Passau, with more than 50,000 inhabitants, was elevated to the status of the regional center of the Danube Forest planning region.
In 2004 the Dreiländerhalle was put into operation, the Nibelungenhalle demolished and construction of the New Center started.
This included the redesign of a large area of the city center.
Due to its location, the three rivers city of Passau has been inundated by numerous floods in the course of history.
The greatest flood disaster in Passau in the 20th century was the “flood of the century” of 1954. When the water level at the Passau / Danube gauge reached 12.89 meters in May and June 2013, the worst flooding in 500 years occurred.
It went down in history as the “millennium flood” of 2013.
Passau - the economy of the three rivers city
As a business location, the city of Passau benefits from its location in the border triangle of Bavaria, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Connected to a motorway and a rail network as well as to the international waterway Danube, the three-river city functions as an international hub.
In 2019 she was awarded the Bavarian Export Prize.
The independent city of Passau generated a gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.236 billion euros in 2016.
At 63,668 euros, their GDP per capita was higher than that of Bavaria at 44,215 euros and that of Germany at 38,180 euros.
According to the Future Atlas 2019, it ranks 79th in Germany and is one of the “places with high future opportunities”.
District of Passau as an economic region
The Passau economic region is known for its mixed structure, with the pillars of industry, tourism and education.
In production, the focus is on mobility and automobiles.
The engine for the
economy
as well as for jobs is Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG), followed by ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Other resident companies include Paul Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH, Msg Systems, the food producer Wieninger Hefe, and Eterna Mode GmbH.
Passau also has three breweries and a local daily newspaper.
With around five million overnight stays in 2019, tourism also plays
an important role
in the district and
city of
Passau.
It is linked to the
sights
, the scenic
location
on three rivers and the cultural offerings.
The economic importance of the comprehensive educational offer is closely linked to the University of Passau.
Passau has been a trade fair location since 1948, including for the prefabricated house, energy-saving and training trade fairs in Passau.
Passau - important sights
The appearance of the old town of Passau is characterized by its location on a peninsula and the Inn and Salzach construction methods of their houses.
Its most beautiful sights include:
the pedestrian zone in the Ludwigsstrasse area
the picturesque Inn promenade
the cathedral square with the cathedral St. Stephan and the Palais Lamberg
the town hall from the 14th century and the Passau Glass Museum on Rathausplatz
the patrician houses and the New Episcopal Residence with the Cathedral Treasury and Diocesan Museum on Residenzplatz in the center
the Museum of Modern Art (MMK) in the Bräugasse
A small headland extends north of the old town in front of the Ilzufer on the right.
The Veste Niederhaus, a hilltop castle from the 8th century, sits enthroned on its rocky top.
The fortress Oberhaus rises above it on the Georgsberg.
It dates from the 12th century and is now home to the Upper House Museum, an observation tower, an observatory, a restaurant and a youth hostel.
Directly below it is the St. Salvator Church, which was built in the 15th century as an expiatory church.
Passau - politics
Jürgen Dupper (SPD) has been the acting Lord Mayor of Passau since 2008.
He was re-elected in the 2020 local elections, and with ten seats the SPD won one more than the Union.
Behind were the Greens with seven, the ödp with six, the FWG with three and the FDP with two seats.
The city council consists of 44 city councilors and the mayor.