Braunau am Inn facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Braunau am Inn
Municipality
Braunau town centre
Flag Coat of arms
Braunau am Inn Location in Austria
Country	Austria
State	Upper Austria
District	Braunau am Inn
Area
• Total	24.84 km2 (9.59 sq mi)
Elevation	352 m (1,155 ft)
Population  (2018-01-01)
• Total	17,095
• Density	688.20/km2 (1,782.4/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	5280, 5282A
Area code	07722
Vehicle registration	BR

Braunau am Inn is a town in Upper Austria, right on the border with Germany. Its name means "Braunau on the Inn River". This town is known for being the birthplace of Adolf Hitler.

Where is Braunau am Inn?

The town is located on the lower part of the Inn River. This is where the Inn River meets the Salzach River. Here, the Inn River forms the border with the German state of Bavaria.

Braunau is about 60 km (37 mi) north of Salzburg. It's also halfway between Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, and Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Bridges over the Inn River connect Braunau with Simbach am Inn, a town in Bavaria.

Braunau used to be a place where people had to stop for border checks. But since 1997, when Austria joined the Schengen Agreement, these checks are no longer needed. This agreement allows people to travel freely between many European countries.

The town also gives its name to the surrounding area, called the Braunau am Inn district. In 2011, about 16,182 people lived in Braunau am Inn.

Parts of Braunau am Inn

The town of Braunau am Inn includes several smaller areas. These are called cadastral communities: Braunau am Inn, Osternberg, and Ranshofen. Within these, there are even smaller populated places. Here are some of them, with their populations as of January 1, 2022:

A Look at Braunau's History

The area around Braunau has a long history. An old abbey in Ranshofen was first mentioned in the year 788. The town of Braunau itself was first written about in 1120. At that time, this region was part of the Duchy of Bavaria.

St Stephen's Church

Braunau became a town with its own laws in 1260. This made it one of the first towns in what is now Austria to have such rights. It grew into an important fortress town and a busy trading spot. People traded salt here, and ships traveled on the Inn River.

In 1705, during a time when Austria occupied Bavaria, Braunau played a big role in a Bavarian uprising. It hosted the "Braunau Parliament," a temporary Bavarian government.

The beautiful Gothic church of Saint Stephen in Braunau was built between 1439 and 1466. Its tall spire, which is 87 meters (285 ft) high, is one of the tallest in Austria and a famous landmark of the town. Today, parts of the old fortress are a museum. You can also still see parts of the old town walls.

Over 40 years, Braunau changed hands three times. In 1779, it became part of Austria. This happened after the War of the Bavarian Succession. Later, during the Napoleonic Wars, a bookseller named Johann Philipp Palm was arrested in Braunau and executed by order of Napoleon in 1806. In 1809, Braunau became Bavarian again. But in 1816, after the wars, the town was given back to the Austrian Empire. Braunau has been part of Austria ever since.

Braunau was also a military town for the Austro-Hungarian Army. During World War I, it had a large camp for prisoners of war. After Austria became part of Nazi Germany in 1938, the nearby area of Ranshofen, which had a large aluminum factory, became part of Braunau.

Since 1992, Braunau has held annual "Contemporary History Days." These events focus on understanding the past. The town also gives out the Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer Award to honor Austrians who have done good work abroad.

The House Where Hitler Was Born

Hitler's birthplace with a memorial stone for victims of fascism

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn on April 20, 1889. His father worked there as a customs official. Hitler and his family moved away from Braunau in 1892. He was born in an apartment building at Salzburger Vorstadt 15. This building had a brewery and several apartments, including the one where his family lived.

In 1938, after the Nazis took control, the street where the house was located was renamed "Adolf-Hitler-Straße." The town square was also renamed "Adolf-Hitler-Platz." Hitler's personal secretary bought the house for the Nazi Party. It then became a place for Nazi followers, with an art gallery and a public library.

After World War II ended in 1945, American soldiers took over the house. They stopped Nazi supporters from blowing it up. For a while, it showed an exhibition about Nazi concentration camps. In 1952, the house was bought back by its original owners. It was then used as a city library, a college, and later a day-care center for people with disabilities.

The house has been a difficult topic for the town and the Austrian government since WWII. To stop it from becoming a place where Nazi supporters would gather, the Austrian government rented the building in 1972.

In 1989, the mayor of Braunau, Gerhard Skiba, had a special memorial stone placed in front of the building. This stone remembers the victims of World War II. It is made from granite from the Mauthausen concentration camp. The stone says: "For peace, freedom and democracy; never again fascism: millions of dead remind us." This memorial helps to discourage "Hitler tourism."

In 2011, the day-care center moved out, and the house became empty. The owner refused to sell it to the government. In 2016, the Austrian government decided to take ownership of the house. They passed a special law to do this.

The government decided to change the building so much that it would not be recognizable as Hitler's birthplace. This is to make sure it can never be used to promote Nazi ideas. The plan is to restore the house to how it looked in 1790. All additions made by the Nazis will be removed.

In 2020, it was announced that the house would become a police station. The restoration work was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now expected to be finished in 2025, with the police moving in by 2026. The house will also be used as a training center.

How Many People Live Here?

The population of Braunau am Inn has changed over the years. Here's a look at how many people have lived there at different times:

Braunau am Inn bridge and customs checkpoint around 1910

What Does Braunau Make?

Braunau has many different types of industries. These include making electronics, working with metal (like AMAG), making things from wood, and producing glass. The town also has the biggest factory in Austria that makes aluminium.

Learning in Braunau

The BHAK Braunau is the oldest school in the Innviertel region.

The HTL Braunau is a technical school. It has been named the "Most Innovative School in Upper Austria" seven times! This happened in 2012-2014 and again from 2017–2020.

Sports in Braunau

The local football (soccer) team, SV Braunau, had two very good seasons. They even reached the Austrian 1st Division. But then, in 2000, the team went bankrupt. A new team was started, called FC Braunau.

Famous People from Braunau

Many interesting people have come from Braunau am Inn:

• Hans Staininger (1508–1567) was a mayor of Braunau. He was known for his very long beard, which sadly caused his death.
• Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863) was a teacher and musician. He wrote the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night".
• Josef Reiter (1862–1939) was an Austrian composer.
• Angela Hitler (1883–1949) was the older half-sister of Adolf Hitler.
• Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was born here.
• Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer (1894–1957) was a diplomat, journalist, and political scientist. He advised the US government during World War II.
• Willi Schneider (1903–1971) and Rudi Schneider (1908–1957) were brothers famous for their work in parapsychology (studying things like mind reading) between the two World Wars.
• Ruthilde Boesch (1918–2012) was an Austrian singer who performed in operas.
• Gerhard Skiba (1947–2019) was a mayor of Braunau. He was the one who put up the memorial stone for the victims of Fascism outside Hitler's birthplace.
• Wilfried Scharf (born 1955) is a zither player.
• Susanne Riess (born 1961) is a politician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2000 to 2003.
• Albert Hainz (born 1964) is a cyclist who was born in Ranshofen.
• Gero Miesenböck (born 1965) is a neurophysiologist, a scientist who studies how the brain and nerves work.
• Dominik Landertinger (born 1988) is a biathlete. He has won two silver and two bronze Olympic medals.

Braunau's Weather

Braunau am Inn has a climate with warm summers and quite cold winters. It's known as an oceanic climate or a humid continental climate.

See also

In Spanish: Braunau am Inn para niños