History Of Bruck a der Mur

Prehistoric man’s tools and other archeological evidence point to early human settlement in the Mura valley; the oldest proof of human existence in the Bruck area is a Neolithic stone axe. The Mura valley was an essential commercial route south of the Alpine Alps during the Bronze Age.

The kingdom of Noricum came into being with the entrance of the Celts in 1000 BC; it was subsequently subjugated by the Roman Empire in 15 BC. Significantly, the Romans established the Celtic-Roman village of Poedicum and built a path along the Mura with a bridge at Bruck. But when migration swept over the region in the fifth century, Roman rule there crumbled.

The principality of Karantania was founded with the entrance of Slavs in 600 AD; the Bavarians later conquered it in 740. Bruck was ruled by a number of monarchs, notably the Salzburg Archbishop, and was first recorded as “Prukka” in 860. The area changed hands; it was incorporated into the recently founded Admont Abbey in 1074 and then passed to the Duchy of Styria in 1180.

The Babenbergs inherited the duchy; noteworthy historical occurrences include Frigyes Civakodó’s 1246 award of a salt trading license. Soon after, Ottokár routed the Hungarians in 1260 and Rudolf Habsburg took control of the duchies in 1277. The report covers sieges, 1348 earthquakes, the establishment of a Jewish settlement in 1357, and 1382 fires.

Bruck was threatened from outside throughout the ages, especially by raids by Matthias in 1479 and roving Turks in 1480. In 1488, Emperor Frederick III granted inhabitants privileges, although the town was nevertheless plagued by fires and other calamities. Restoring Bruck to Catholicism started around 1600, and in 1610 a Capuchin monastery was founded.

Bruck had hardships throughout the Napoleonic Wars, which occupied the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A phase of growth began in 1844 with the opening of the Mürzzuschlag-Bruck-Graz railway line. A municipal council was established and the magistrate was abolished as part of administrative changes after the Viennese revolution.

Established in 1900, the forestry college encountered financial difficulties and in 1924, during the economic crisis, Bruck made the unpleasant distinction of being the most expensive city in Austria. 1934 brought political unrest to a head and the Social Democratic Party was banned. Most people in Bruck chose to join the German Empire in the Anschluss referendum of 1938.

Bruck was a significant railway crossroads during World War II and saw attacks that resulted in fatalities. After the war until July 1945, Soviet and British armies seized the town. Notably, in 2015, as part of the administrative reform in Styria, the neighboring market town of Oberaich was combined with Bruck a der Mur.