Ortenburg (Bavaria)

Ortenburg

Ortenburg town centre

Coat of arms
Ortenburg

Coordinates: 48°32′N 13°13′E / 48.533°N 13.217°E / 48.533; 13.217Coordinates: 48°32′N 13°13′E / 48.533°N 13.217°E / 48.533; 13.217
Country Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Niederbayern
District Passau
Government
  Mayor Stefan Lang (CSU)
Area
  Total 60.73 km2 (23.45 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
  Total 7,090
  Density 120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 94496
Dialling codes 08542
Vehicle registration PA
Website www.ortenburg.de

Ortenburg (Central Bavarian: Otnbuag) is a municipality and old market town in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany.

History

The Ortenburg Market in 1620, from a watercolour by Friedrich Casimir.

Set in the Wolfach River valley, Ortenburg can look back over a 900-year history. In about 1120 it was established by the Counts of Ortenburg. At the same time the upwardly mobile von Kamm family appeared on the scene. However, during the thirteenth century the von Kamms relocated to Hals (now a quarter of Passau). The Ortenburg counts, whose own origins lay with the Spanheimer dynasty, were keen to establish their own separate dynastic centre and such the Imperial County of Ortenburg kept its Imperial immediacy until 1806.

The Ortenburgs were among the most powerful of the Bavarian nobility, competing in terms of power and position with the Wittelsbach dynasty. During the height of their power, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Ortenburgs held lands from as far south as the Brixen valley, that extended also far into the Upper Palatinate.

References

Ortenburg Castle


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