History up close: tour through Steyr's historic city square!

History up close: tour through Steyr's historic city square!

Steyr, Österreich - On May 30, 2025, the city of Steyr had a special event under the motto "A look behind the front doors of the city square houses". Organized by the SB training officer Wolfgang Hack, it took place on the premises of the Senior Citizens' Association. The afternoon began with an impressive photo presentation by Hack, which gave the participants an overview of the historical importance of the city houses.

As part of a tour, the participants visited various significant places, starting at Brucknerplatz over the city ditch to the promenade and finally in Berggasse. A special highlight was access to the city square through the departure in the Siebenstern house, which gave visitors a fascinating insight into the city's history. On the way to the Hartlauerhaus they passed the former Salzstadl, which is well used for workshops and training.

historical insights and city history

Wolfgang Hack has worked out the story of 148 town houses in Steyr in detail in his work "History and Stories of the Steyr Houses", which was published by Akazia Verlag in 2021. Not only monument status and architectural history are treated, but also the stories of the owner families and their handicrafts are highlighted. The numerous current and historical photographs are particularly remarkable, all of which were taken by the author himself. The ISBN of the book is 9783950479560 and it is available in the museum shop of the Innerberg Stadel.

An indispensable part of Steyr city history are the Gothic civic buildings, which have still preserved their late Gothic appearance, especially on the city square. Introductory buildings such as numbers 15, 17, 19 and 21 show the distinctive style of the epoch at that time. Historical reports show that the expansion of this Ennsssiden, ground -level building only began at the beginning of the 15th century, as V. Preuenhueber stated in his stages of 1630.

Special features of the city architecture

The architecture of Steyrs is shaped by numerous special features. There is a Gothic stone portal with a profiled walls that leads to a commercial house on the town square and has massive Gothic door walls and a stuck rib hall from the 17th century. Artistic Sgraffito decorations were discovered in restorations that go back to the Renaissance period and show geometric motifs and representations of unicorns. The latter is a remarkable fabulous animal that is important in city history.

The unicorn was regarded as a symbol of purity and strength and was considered to be a mysterious forces several times in the Middle Ages. So merchants believed in their magical properties and had it attached to their houses. In addition to the unicorn, the numerous information about various owner families, such as the Taxhamer or Schüchl, also examine the historical depth of the city.

At the end of the event, the participants went to the Gardeheim of the Steyr Citizens' Guard. There they received insights into uniforms, rifles and the story of Josef Werndl. Despite suboptimal weather conditions, the view from the viewing platform onto the roof landscape and the city square was consistently positively rated by the participants. The tour with a snack and a small barrel of beer, which was provided by the senior citizens' association, found a worthy conclusion.

The event not only showed the connection between the historical buildings and the modern Steyr Society, but also documented the great interest and joy of the participants in their city history and culture. The feedback was consistently positive, and both the participants and the Bo Ursula Voglsam thanked Wolfgang Hack for his commitment and the exciting leadership.