Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria

Heiligenkreuz
Heiligenkreuz Monastery Heiligenkreuz Monastery
Coat of arms of Heiligenkreuz Coat of arms
Heiligenkreuz Location within Austria
Coordinates:
Country	Austria
State	Lower Austria
District	Baden
Government
• Mayor	Johann Ringhofer
Area
• Total	29.5 km2 (11.4 sq mi)
Elevation	312 m (1,024 ft)
Population (1 January 2014)
• Total	1,536
• Density	52/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	2532
Area code	02258
Website	www.heiligenkreuz.at

Heiligenkreuz is a municipality in the district of Baden, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is known for the Cistercian monastery of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, the associated papal college Benedict XVI and the Catholic Leopoldinum seminary.

Geography

The municipality is located within the Vienna Woods (Wienerwald) mountain range in the southwest of the Austrian capital Vienna. It is part of the Lower Austrian Industrieviertel region. Heiligenkreuz is a stop on the old Via Sacra from Vienna to Mariazell in Styria. The local economy largely depends on tourism and forestry.

The municipal area comprises the cadastral communities of Heiligenkreuz and Siegenfeld. In the southeast it borders on the district capital Baden.

History

File:Stiftstor Heiligenkreuz.jpg

Monastery gate

The village of Siegenfeld in the March of Austria possibly arose around 1040. In 1133 the Babenberg margrave Leopold III established the Heiligenkreuz monastery in the sparsely settled area. Another nearby village, mentioned as Muchersdorf in a 1136 deed, later became abandoned.

Over the centuries, a small settlement grew outside the monastery walls, which was incorporated as the present-day municipality in 1849.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1939	987	—
1951	1,083	+9.7%
1961	946	−12.7%
1971	1,056	+11.6%
1981	1,105	+4.6%
1991	1,324	+19.8%
2001	1,331	+0.5%
2011	1,520	+14.2%

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2010 local elections:

• Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 15
• Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 3
• The Greens – The Green Alternative: 1