Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 13 May 1779
- It is the area known as the "Innviertel", which had been part of Bavaria since the Early Middle Ages. On this day in 1779, Innviertel was assigned to Austria. 110 years later, Adolf Hitler was born there, in the small town of Braunau am Inn.
On this day in 1779, Austria became the “owner” of the Hitler’s native land.
It is the area which is known as the “Innviertel”, named after the Inn River, which flows through that area. The Innviertel had been part of Bavaria since the Early Middle Ages, which influenced the local language.
But the Innviertel was assigned to Austria on this day, when the Treaty of Teschen (Cieszyn, Poland) was signed. On this date, the War of the Bavarian Succession officially ended. The war had broken out due to conflicts over the successor after the death of the last Bavarian ruler (a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty).
After the War of the Bavarian Succession, a compromise was reached, and the Innviertel became part of Austria. The town of Braunau am Inn, where Adolf Hitler was born, is also located there.
Furthermore, Franz Xaver Gruber, the composer of “Silent Night” (German: Stille Nacht), the famous Christmas carol, was also born in the area of the Innviertel. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who was the head of the Reich Main Security Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt – the RSHA) which also included the Gestapo, was born in Ried im Innkreis, not far from Braunau am Inn.
