The little city of Steyr needs neither Sachertorte nor the Sound of Music to hold its own. An intriguing history, well-preserved architecture, and thriving industry set the scene.

By Tom Bross

Steyr at sunset

Austria's "Big Three"-Vienna-Salzburg-Innsbruck-get maximum attention among first-time and repeat visitors to the country. But just a hundred miles from Vienna, and even less from Salzburg, the little city of Steyr (population 40,000) needs neither Sachertorte nor the Sound of Music to hold its own. An intriguing history, well-preserved architecture, and thriving industry set the scene.

After flowing through the hilly Traunviertel region of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), the Steyr and Enns Rivers converge to form a sharp triangle of land where picturesque, walkable Steyr has stood for 1,000-plus years. Rows of arcaded Renaissance, baroque, and rococo townhouses, crammed wall-to-wall, set the harmonious scene. For visual accentuation, massive Schloss Lamberg, dramatically floodlighted after nightfall, commands the heights of an adjacent promontory. The castle's foundations date from the 10th century, when Franconian-Bavarian Babenberger margraves ruled what ultimately became this northerly segment of imperial Austria-Hungary.

Trading rights were granted by Duke Albrecht I in 1287, boosting waterborne commerce (the Enns empties into the Danube 30 km/18 mi north of town). Resulting prosperity goes a long way toward explaining rich details noticeable on structures surrounding the elliptical Stadtplatz. Tallest amidst the ensemble: the slender white belfry of Steyr's mid-18th-century Rathaus, a can't-miss landmark featuring a rococo-encrusted façade and ornamental balustrades. 

For late-Gothic contrast, cross the cobblestone-paved Platz for close-up looks at the pointy-gabled, impeccably preserved Bummerlhaus, a burgher's residence long ago, then an inn, now a VKB bank. Of 15th-century Gothic vintage, too: Pfarrgasse's Parish Church (illuminated by a  brilliant pair of stained-glass windows revering the Virgin Mary) and, on Kirchengasse, the Dunklhof house with its truly Old World courtyard. Two rock-solid gateways-Schnallentor (1613) and Neutor (1573)-"guard" inner-city perimeters. Looming above riverfront embankments, twin clock towers surmount 1647's Michaelerkirche, its curved pediment adorned with an allegorical fresco assuring believers that Archangel Michael vanquished devilish Lucifer. Inside, altarpiece artistry repeats the Archangel theme.

Steyr's compact cityscape, developed over the centuries on three fairly steep terraces, is interconnected by 119 bridges and catwalks, so roaming around always reveals different perspectives and hidden-away nooks and crannies.
  
Making Music and Forging Iron
A commemorative marker on the Stadtplatz's Paumgartner housefront informs us that Franz Schubert stayed here on three separate occasions (1819, 1823, 1825). The murmuring and splashing of Steyr's two rivers doubtlessly inspired his Trout Quintet, as well as the A-major piano sonata. Six decades later, composer Anton Bruckner enjoyed a sojourn in the Parish Church's rectory, a peaceful-enough time for him to play the organ and complete his monumental A-major Sixth Symphony.

Considering those tuneful grace notes and the picture-perfect urban panoramics, Steyr's longtime industrial prominence might come as a surprise. Ironworks, in fact, were established as early as the 14th century. That led to muskets, pistols, and carbines being turned out by the thousands for Europe's military battalions. Entrepreneur Josef Wendl made firearms assembly a leading economic enterprise during the mid-19th century, with Mannlicher emerging as one of Europe's most-recognized brands.

Meanwhile, the continent's first-ever electric streetlights (hydropowered by the two rushing rivers) were switched on in 1884.

Tractors, trucks, and (as of 1926) zippy Puch mopeds have been locally produced. In east-side Münichholz, a plant (open for tours) manufactures engines for BMW automobiles. The city's industrial activity came at the price of World War II air raids, the heaviest coming on February 23, 1944. Two Stadtplatz buildings, hit by stray bombs, were destroyed, afterwards replaced by ambitiously blended-in 1950s structures. Streetfront plaques on each of them tell the story.

Toward the war's end in May 1945, the bridge spanning the Enns became the meeting point of the Soviet Red army's 5th guards parachute unit and the 751st tank battalion of the Americans' 71st infantry division. Two months of joint Russian/U.S. occupation followed. 

Austria's Christmas Village
An epileptic local bandmaster's miraculous recovery led to construction of 1725's echt-Barock, richly gilded Christkindl Pilgrimage Church, 3 km/1.86 mi southwest of the Innenstadt. Gaze high upward toward the dome fresco, a vision of the Assumption painted by Johann Carl von Reslfeld. Visitors come from far beyond for seasonal viewings of the parsonage's enormous Pöttmesser nativity scene (778 figures!) and a Biblical diorama populated by 300 linden-carved creatures, made mechanically moveable by Karl Klauda's intricate system of bicycle chains, gears, and shafts. Deluged by mail during each year's Advent season, the village's tiny post office nevertheless manages to Christkindl-postmark more than two million cards and letters.
Right in town, a former hospital now houses Austria's first Christmas museum, displaying Elfriede Kreuzberger's collection of 14,000 Yuletide decorations dating from as early as 1830, plus doll houses and 200 puppets. As expected, a huge Tannenbaum fir tree stands at midpoint on the Stadtplatz, a setting (strung with thousands of lights) for caroling and trumpet concerts. Narrow, north-branching Enge Gasse ranks as Steyr's swankiest pedestrian lane, favored by shoppers for leather goods, fashion attire, and handicrafts.