Siedlungsformen#

Settlement, Forms of: The kind, number and topographical arrangement of human habitations. A first distinction is between rural and urban settlements. Rural settlements are further categorised as individual habitations and group settlements (Gruppensiedlungen or Sammelsiedlungen). The former comprise solitary farmsteads (Einzelhof) and scattered settlements (Streusiedlungen); among the latter a distinction is made in accordance with the size of the settlement in question (in ascending order: Einschicht, Weiler (roughly = hamlet), Rotte, Dorf (village), Markt (market town) and Stadt (town or city)). The borderlines between individual and group settlements are often blurred. Two neighbouring Einzelhoefe (solitary farmsteads at a distance of less than 150 m from each other) are still considered to form an Einschicht, several houses loosely scattered in mountainous or wooded areas form a Rotte. A Streusiedlung (scattered settlement) consists of Einzelhoefe surrounded by plots of land belonging to their individual owners. Such settlements, which were usually established between ca. 1000 and 1400 A.D., are predominantly found in mountain and hill country on steep valley slopes, undulating plateaus and knolls of the Alpine range and pre-Alps, the Muehlviertel and southwestern Waldviertel regions and in eastern Styria. Rural group settlements, irrespective of their size, can be Waldhufensiedlungen or Gewannsiedlungen. The Waldhufensiedlung is the oldest form; it consists of farmsteads at a considerable distance from one another in wooded areas. The difference between this form of settlement and the scattered settlement (Streusiedlung) is that the former has regular and continuous strips of land (Hufen) while the latter is characterised by irregularly scattered plots of land. The Gewannsiedlung is one in which the area of the settlement (Hotter) is broken down into a varying number of Riede or Gewanne. This type of settlement comprises all forms of villages ( Dorf). In economically favoured places or traffic centres, for instance at the intersection of trading routes, at points where valleys meet or where a mountain area falls down to the lowland, villages have developed into market towns, towns or cities (cases in point are (Wilhelmsburg, Kirchdorf an der Krems, Kirchberg an der Pielach, Weyer, Aschach an der Donau, Tamsweg and Althofen at the margin of the Krappfeld plain). A further distinction is made according to their historical development: Settlements that obtained their charters in the course of their development are called "gewordene" (literally: "developed") market towns, chartered towns or cities (Krems, Salzburg, Vienna). "Gewachsene" ("grown") cities and market towns have the characteristics of settlements from different periods. Settlements that already obtained their charters at the time they were founded (in the 12th -14th century) are called "gegruendete" ("founded") market towns or cities (Bruck an der Mur, Enns, Feldkirch, Klagenfurt, Korneuburg, Leoben, Wiener Neustadt). In their case, the original topographical features (such as fortifications) are frequently still recognisable (Friesach, Kufstein, Leoben, Linz, Radstadt, Retz, Rust). Topographical names of areas in the open country (Flurnamen) often commemorate former settlements that were laid waste or abandoned. Place names frequently point to the time they were founded. Thus, the ending"-ing" is indicative of the fact that the area was settled by Bavarians at an early time (of the 359 settlements that were founded before the year 800 24 % of those in Upper Austria, 2,8 % of those in Lower Austria, 1,4 % of those in Styria and Carinthia and 1,3 % of those in Tirol have place names with this ending), followed by places ending in "-bach". The endings "-dorf" and "-hausen" indicate a later date, and the youngest settlements are those with names ending in "-holz", "-loh", "-hart", "-moos", or "-ried". Place names containing the words "mauer", "burg" or "walchen" may suggest ancient Roman settlements. The names of settlements and topographic names in the open country may also give indications as to the different historic periods or cultures through which they have existed (Celtic, Rhaetian, Roman, Slav, etc.).

Literature#