2451 AUSTRIA (Upper Austria) - The Town Square of Steyr in interwar period

2451 The Town Square of Steyr in interwar period

Situated in the Traunviertel region, with the two rivers Steyr and Enns flowing through it and meeting near the town centre beneath Lamberg Castle and St Michael's Church, Steyr is an ancient town which celebrated the anniversary of 1,000 years in 1980. In 11th and 12th centuries the Otakar dynasty controlled the iron mining at Erzberg and made their residence at Steyr a centre of medieval courtly culture and Middle High German poetry.

In the following two centuries it lost its importance as a ducal residence but retained its status as a centre of ironworking, and was also a centre of the Christian Waldensian movement and a location of the inquisitoral persecutuions. Likewise, the Protestant Reformation quickly spread among the citizens about 1525, fiercely opposed by the Habsburg rulers. In 1727 the medieval Styraburg was devastated by a blaze and replaced by the Baroque Lamberg Castle.

The resurgence of Steyr began under the conditions of late 18th century Josephinism and continued in the course of the succeeding industrialisation. The city has a long history as a manufacturing center and has given its name to several manufacturers headquartered there, such as the former Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate and its successor Steyr Motors. A major producer of arms and military vehicles during WWII, Steyr became a target of Allied bombing raids, and much of the town was badly damaged.

The famous historic town centre built around the Stadtplatz (town square) was largely restored following WWII, Steyr becoming one of the best preserved old towns in the country. Its best-known piece of architecture is called the Bummerlhaus which is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture for its size in Central Europe.The oldest part of the building dates from the thirteenth century, and it is first mentioned in documents dating from 1450.

About the stamps
On the postcard are two ATM labels, Gift table / gingerbread, about which I wrote here.

The last stamp was issued on November 27, 2015, to mark the Christmas.

References
Steyr - Wikipedia

Sender 2308: Denise
Sent from Vienna (Vienna / Austria) on 27.11.2015