Enns | |
---|---|
Location within Austria | |
Coordinates: 48°13′0″N 14°28′30″E / 48.21667°N 14.47500°ECoordinates: 48°13′0″N 14°28′30″E / 48.21667°N 14.47500°E | |
Country | Austria |
State | Upper Austria |
District | Linz-Land |
Government | |
• Mayor | Franz Stefan Karlinger (SPÖ) |
Area | |
• Total | 33.27 km2 (12.85 sq mi) |
Elevation | 281 m (922 ft) |
Population (14 June 2016) | |
• Total | 11,736 |
• Density | 350/km2 (910/sq mi) |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Postal code | 4470 |
Area code | 07223 |
Vehicle registration | LL |
Website |
www.enns.at www.enns.or.at |
Enns is a town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria on the river Enns, which forms the border with the state of Lower Austria.
Enns was one of the first places in Austria to receive town privileges. The town charter dates to 22 April 1212, the document is displayed at the local museum. The date is also depicted on the Town Tower, the landmark of Enns.
Enns extends for 7.5 km from north to south and 8.6 km from west to east. Its total area is 34.3 km², of which 12.8% are covered with forest, and 64.1% are used for agriculture.
The municipality can be subdivided into the districts of Einsiedl, Enghagen, Enghagen am Tabor, Enns, Ental, Erlengraben, Hiesendorf, Kottingrat, Kristein, Kronau, Lorch, Moos, Rabenberg and Volkersdorf.
The first settlements in the area of the mouth of the Enns river to the Danube date back to 4,000 years ago. Celts settled the land around 400 BC. Their kingdom of Noricum was incorporated into the Roman Empire in AD 15 and was designated as a Roman province under the reign of Emperor Claudius in AD 45.
In the second and third century, the Roman camp of Lauriacum, in which up to 6,000 soldiers were stationed, was located on the site of modern Enns. The adjacent settlement (today: Lorch) received the privileges of a municipium in 212 from Emperor Caracalla. At that time about 30,000 people lived here. During the Diocletian Persecution of Christians, a commander of the Roman army, Saint Florian, died as a martyr at Lauriacum on 4 May 304, when he was drowned in the Enns river. Only nine years later, the Emperor Constantine I proclaimed religious tolerance with the Edict of Milan. About 370, an Early Christian basilica was built on the remains of a Jupiter temple and Lauriacum was the see of a bishop until 488. The present St Lawrence's Basilica at Lorch was built in 1344 on the foundations of the old church