Editing Judenburg (section)

==History==
[[File:AT-78621 Stadtturm Judenburg003.JPG|thumb|left|City Tower]]
Archaeological findings indicate that the area was settled at least since the days of the [[Celts|Celtic]] kingdom of [[Noricum]]. Judenburg itself was first mentioned in a 1074 [[staple right]] deed as {{lang|la|mercatum Judinburch}}, a [[market town]] within the estates of [[Burgruine Eppenstein|Eppenstein Castle]], the ancestral seat of the [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavarian]] Eppensteiner noble family, who ruled as [[March of Styria|Styrian margraves]] in the 11th century. The name literally means "Jews' Borough", referring to the town's origin as a trading outpost on the route from the [[Mur (river)|Mur Valley]] across the [[Obdach Saddle]] mountain pass to [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]], in which [[history of the Jews in Austria|Jews]] played an important role, being represented in the city's coat of arms.

Upon the extinction of the Eppensteiner dynasty in 1122, the estates passed to the Styrian [[Otakars]] and in 1192 to the [[House of Babenberg]], Dukes of [[Duchy of Austria|Austria]] since 1156. Judenburg received [[German town law|town privileges]] in 1224 and the right to collect tolls in 1277. The town grew to an important commercial centre for [[iron ore]] mined at nearby [[Eisenerz]], but also for [[valeriana celtica]] used in perfumes during the 13th and 14th centuries. Judenburg was even granted a [[valeriana]] trade [[monopoly]] by the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]] in 1460. After several [[pogrom]]s, all Jews were expelled from the [[Duchy of Styria]] by order of Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] in 1496. Following his [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|breakthrough in Italy]], General [[Napoléon Bonaparte]] made his headquarters at Judenburg and it was there, on the night of 7–8 April 1796, that he signed the [[Truce of Judenburg]] with the Austrians.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the town was one of the centres of [[Austria-Hungary]]'s steel industry and also a [[garrison]] city of the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]]. From 1910 to 1914 one of the first [[trolleybus]]ses in Austria connected Judenburg station with the town's centre. Little remains of the former industry today, but Judenburg remains an industrial and trade centre. In May 1918, the city was the site of a [[Judenburg Mutiny|failed military mutiny]].

In 1938, with the [[Anschluss|annexation of Austria]] by [[Nazi Germany]], Judenburg became part of the [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]]. Due to the presence of the word {{wikt-lang|de|Jude}} ("Jew") in the town's name, many possible new names were suggested, including {{lang|de|Zirbenstadt}} (after ''Zirbe'', the German name for the [[Swiss pine]] tree) and {{lang|de|Adolfsburg}} (in honor of [[Adolf Hitler]]). However, the planned renaming was indefinitely postponed after the outbreak of war and ultimately never happened.<ref>Vgl. Michael Schiestl: „Zirbitz-“, „Adolf-“ oder „Jubelburg“. Dokumente des „gesunden Volksempfindens“. In: ''Berichte des Museumsvereines Judenburg.'' 33 (2000), S. 23–32.</ref><ref>Strunz, Gunnar: ''Steiermark: Das grüne Herz Österreichs'', p. 130. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqcwDQAAQBAJ&dq=Zirbenstadt&pg=PA130 (link)]</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], a subcamp of [[Mauthausen concentration camp]] was located nearby,<ref>[http://www.tartanplace.com/tartanhistory/concentrationcamps.html Christine O’Keefe.''Concentration Camps.'']</ref> where a [[displaced person]]s' reception centre was established after the war. Judenburg was also one of several towns that saw the [[repatriation of Cossacks after World War II|handover of Cossacks to the Red Army]].