Rottenmann#

Rottenmann, Styria, town in the district of Liezen, alt. 681 m, pop. 5,431, area 112.51 km2, located in the Paltental valley. - District court, regional health insurance institution, advice centre for social services, Pro-Juventute children´s village, hospital, school for social work, public library, Jugendforum centre, Volkshaus centre, Klamm power plant, combined heating and power station, electricity plant; 2,198 persons employed (1991), the production and service sectors are responsible for approximately half of all employment: factory for electrical appliances, building firms, factory for kitchen furniture, cable engineering. - The area around Rottenmann was presumably first settled by the Romans and was later inhabited by the Slavs. First documented mention in 927, laid out in the early 13th century according to specific designs; parts of the city wall and the south tower housing a Gothic gateway have been preserved. - Former abbey of the Augustinian Canons Regular (1453-1785), late Gothic city parish church (1440) with frescoes dating from 1509, a magnificent, columned high altar with Rococo ornamentation, altar paintings (around 1777) by M. J. Schmidt and a marble pulpit (1513); hospital church (1446-51) with an impressive, columned high altar (around 1730-1740) and statues; old burghers´ houses (dating from 15th -17th centuries); located 1 km east in St. Georgen (also known as "Alt- Rottenmann") is Rottenmann's oldest church with a Romanesque core and a late Gothic winged altar (around 1520, 5 m high) from the workshop of L. Astl; Gruenpichl Castle (today used as a farm) and Thalhof Castle; Strechau Castle, located west of Rottenmann above the Paltental valley, erected around 1040 and altered from the 15th to the 17th century; the courtyard contains Renaissance arcades and portals, the Great Hall has a stuccoed ceiling and is decorated with paintings depicting scenes from mythology, chapel (1579) with an extensive collection of Protestant paintings, altar (1690); a Romanesque church with late Gothic additions standing 1,008 m high is located in Oppenberg, the high altar (approx. 1670) contains a late Gothic group of shrines (around 1485).

Literature#