Eisenerz#

Eisenerz, Styria, town (since 1948) in the district of Leoben, alt. 730 m, pop. 7,759 (1981: pop. 10,068), area 124.53 km2, ancient mining site near Erzberg mountain, in Erzbach valley, at the foot of Pfaffenstein mountain (alt. 1,871 m) and Kaiserschild mountain (alt. 2,084 m). - District court, Employment Services, health and social insurance office, Chamber of Labour, hospital, district-heating station, small hydraulic power-plants, stadium, training centre for Nordic disciplines, various schools: upper-level federal science-oriented secondary school (Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium), commercial school (Handelsschule with continuation courses for Handelsakademie - commercial academy), vocational schools of trade and commerce. Only open-cast ore mine in Austria (VOEST-Alpine steel works, smelting in Linz and Donawitz), the ore face is open to visitors (stepped strip mine and underground mines; annual output of 3.5 million tons of siderite containing approximately 33 % iron), mine open to the public; glass industry (VOEST-Alpine Glas GmbH: plate glass, windscreens), metal processing industry, production of expanded metal and agricultural machinery, beer warehouses. -St. Oswald Gothic parish church (15th and 16th  centuries), the largest fortified church (fortification 1532-1534) in Styria, with outstanding west choir (1513-1517), 1890-1899 redecorated in Gothic style; Marktkirche church, built in 1435, redecorated in Baroque style, Renaissance course masonry tower with bell, built in 1581. - Geyeregg (1621-1622) and Leopoldstein Castles (built in 1680, renovated in 1890-1894, boarding school) are nearby; Municipal Museum in the Kammerhof building (documentation of the historical development of ore mining); northeast of Eisenerz is the Frauenmauerhoehle cave (length 644 m, ice cave, stalactite formations); 4 km to the north is Lake Leopoldstein, 7 km to the south is Praebichl Pass (alt. 1,232 m, winter resort).

Literature#