| Ampflwang im Hausruckwald | |
| Pushpin Map: | Austria |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 270 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Austria |
| Mapsize: | 260x260px |
| Coordinates: | 48.0928°N 13.5667°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Austria |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Upper Austria |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Vöcklabruck |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Christian Kienast |
| Elevation M: | 566 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Registration Plate: | VB |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 4843 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 07675 |
| Website: | www.ampflwang.at |
Ampflwang im Hausruckwald is a municipality in the district of Vöcklabruck in the Austrian state of Upper Austria.
The village was first mentioned in documents in 1169 and was a farming settlement community until the discovery of lignite around 1766.[1] In 1809, Ampflwang, like the rest of the Hausruckviertel, fell to Bavaria during the Napoleonic Wars, where it remained until 1814.
As lignite, and with it the Wolfsegg-Traunthaler-Kohlenwerks AG (WTK), which operated coal mining in the community, became more and more important, the number of inhabitants rose to over 2,000 after World War I. The consequence was the change from a peasant to an industrial employment structure. Ampflwang was elevated to the status of a market town in 1969 due to its economic importance in the Hausruckviertel. At the same time, the right to bear the municipal coat of arms was granted.
In the 1970s, the community reached a population of over 4000 people. As early as 1961, the municipal council decided to declare Ampflwang a tourist community. Since that time, the industrial town has transformed itself into a tourist community and is today known above all for its commitment to equestrian tourism.[2] [3]
Due to the fact that most of the coal had been mined out, the expiration of purchase contracts, and also the fact that the production costs of Ampflwang coal were higher than the world market prices, the mining operation was liquidated in 1995. Another small open pit mining operation has been closed in the meantime.
Ampflwang im Hausruckwald is situated on the southern slope of the Hausruckwald, in the valley of the Ampflwangbach, which is formed by low hill ranges and runs from south to north. Its extension is 5.9 kilometers from north to south and 6 kilometers from west to east. The municipality has an area of 20.57 square kilometers. Of this, 28 percent is agricultural land and 58 percent is forested.[4]
During the time when brown coal mining was still prevalent in the Hausruckviertel, many people moved to Ampflwang because they could find well-paid work in the mining industry, although not easy. In the 1961 census, Ampflwang reached its previous peak with 3,965 inhabitants. After WTK decided to close the Ampflwang plant for economic reasons on May 25, 1995, the municipality now has about 14.6 percent fewer inhabitants due to the resulting migration.
The municipal territory includes the following 18 localities (in parentheses number of inhabitants as of January 1, 2022):[5]
The municipality is congruent with the cadastral municipality of Ampfelwang.
The municipal council has 25 members.
| Ampflwang im Hausruckwald | |
| Year Granted: | 21 February 1969 |
| Escutcheon: | Per fess Or, an acorn on a two-leaved stalk issuant from the fessline Vert, and Sable, a mount of three coupeaux Or, charged with hammer and mallet in saltire Sable. |
| Symbolism: | The oak leaf with acorn is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Khevenhüllerr family, who, as the former owners of Frankenburg (1581-1910), also held part of the landlords in the present-day municipality of Ampflwang; however, the depiction also points to the location of the market in the Hausruckwald. - Hammer and mallet remind us of the economic importance of lignite mining in the Hausruck region at that time, the centre of which was Ampflwang after the First World War.[9] |