Logo der Stadt Osterhofen

Osterhofen at a Glance 

 

The town of Osterhofen, located in the heartland of Lower Bavaria, looks back at 1200 years of history. Osterhofen is first mentioned in a royal charter of 833, and was already granted city rights in 1378 by the Landgrave of Leuchtenberg. While its municipal charter thus dates back over 600 years, this is, nonetheless, the most recent such grant in Lower Bavaria. As a consequence of the Local Government Reform Acts of 1972 and 1978, Osterhofen grew tremendously – to an area of 111 km² and a population of 12,000 (as of 2008) – when ten formerly independent municipalities agreed to be integrated into the town. The population is spread over a vast and relatively sparsely populated area with over 60 villages and hamlets.

Marienplatz Supplying electricity and water to such a spread-out community is, of course, a particular challenge, as is waste management and sewage disposal. The town justly takes prides in its accomplishments in the local infrastructure. A considerable amount of money is spent on the annual maintenance of the local road network (totalling 170km). About 93% of the population are connected to the public water supply system; 90% are also connected to the central sewerage system. The last years have seen the establishment of an extended network of cycle tracks, embedded in a larger, trans-regional network, and ideally suited for one-day excursions. Moreover, the town offers a multitude of recreational facilities for sports and cultural activities: Men, women and children of all ages delight in frequenting the gymnasiums, the tennis courts, the “Sportodrom” with its integrated fitness centre, and the heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and find like-minded people in a number of clubs to share in their activities. There are also nice walking routes in the public park, or on the banks of the river Danube nearby.

Cultural institutions include a local heritage museum, open all year round, which hosts a number of special exhibitions every year. The town library owns 17000 lendable books and other media items and frequently organizes poetry readings. Concerts of the “Europäische Wochen” festival, regular excursions to the Landestheater (Regional Theatre), performances of local drama groups, and a broad range of opportunities for adult education add to the rich cultural life in town. The most eminent highlight, of course, is the Papal Basilica of St. Margaretha in Altenmarkt, a masterpiece of late Baroque sacred architecture whose interior was designed by the famous Asam brothers.

Osterhofen has long been renowned for its street markets, among them the weekly market on Monday, which offers a rich variety of fruit and vegetables, and four big fairs, which haveStadtplatz lost none of their attraction over many years. The program finishes with a small, but exquisite Christmas fair each year. As to education, Osterhofen’s situation is also most satisfactory. Aside from primary and secondary modern schools, there is a school for the handicapped, and boys’ and girls’ advanced secondary schools. The nearest grammar schools are only 10 and 15km away, and can be reached very conveniently by public transport.

In the commercial sector, Osterhofen has made considerable headway over the last few years. By setting up two new industrial estates, the town has been able to attract business from outside, and to help local companies expand their economic activities, which has in turn created many new job opportunities. At the same time, cheap estates in residential areas have been made available to allow the labour force to live conveniently nearby. However, the town centre has lost some of its commercial attractiveness – a problem shared by many other towns. During the next few years, its revitalization will be a major focus of urban development, and detailed plans for this undertaking will be worked out in the near future.

StadtparkFor many years, Osterhofen has enjoyed the reputation of being a tranquil and lovely country town that offers a high quality of life. The situation of the town has steadily improved over the last few years, thanks to a far-sighted and yet frugal economic and budget policy. Due to the peculiar structure of the large municipal area, the different parts of the town all have their individual concerns, although not at all of these are dissimilar. At such a junction, it is the local clubs that need to shape and foster social cohesion in the individual villages, while the municipality can only try to provide the best possible framework and offer financial support. The town also has to face another challenge: natural resources are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. Supporting useful regenerative energy supply systems and exploiting the potential for saving energy consumption will be among the most pressing tasks during the next few years. As Mayor of Osterhofen, I shall endeavour to focus on such urgent and critical issues, at the same time bearing in mind the general situation, so that the people of Osterhofen may continue to look forward to the future.

The original text is written in German and was translated by Bernhard Müller