Thal, Styria
| Thal | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
|
||
 Thal
|
||
|
Location within Graz-Umgebung district
|
||
| Coordinates: 47°04′42″N 15°21′15″E / 47.07833°N 15.35417°ECoordinates: 47°04′42″N 15°21′15″E / 47.07833°N 15.35417°E | ||
| Country | Austria | |
| State | Styria | |
| District | Graz-Umgebung | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Peter Schickhofer (SPÖ) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 18.57 km2 (7.17 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 440 m (1,440 ft) | |
| Population (1 January 2016) | ||
| • Total | 2,276 | |
| • Density | 120/km2 (320/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal codes | 8051, 8052, 8151 | |
| Area code | 0316 | |
| Vehicle registration | GU | |
| Website | www.thal.steiermark.at | |
Thal (German pronunciation: [ˈtaːl]) is a small, picturesque village in Austria about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west from the edge of Graz, Austria's second largest city. Its population in the 2014 census was 2,240. It is most famous for being the birthplace of actor, bodybuilder, and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who lived in Thal until 1966 at age 19. On July 2011, Schwarzenegger opened his childhood house as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum. It also boasts a remarkably different and striking modern church.
The first forest village settlement was established in the 10th century. In the following two centuries, scattered hamlets grew up in the area. On 1 January 1850, the settlement became known as "St. Jacob Thal". On 1 January 1995, the village became a settlement with market town ("Marktgemeinde") status.
The village is located about 3.2 km west of the Styrian capital of Graz. Thal is a scattered settlement of houses, consisting of about 19 grouped hamlets: Eben, Eck, Hardt, Haslau, Kirchberg, Kötschberg, Linak, Oberbichl, Oberthal, Plabutsch, Schlüsselhof, Steinberg, Unterbichl, Unterthal, Waldsdorf, Waldsdorfberg, Wendlleiten, Windhof, and Winkel. The village contains a small lake called Thalersee.
In 1735, a wooden chapel was built in Baroque style. In 1772, the parish church of St. Jacob was built and originally dedicated to St. Sebastian. It was extended in 1992, with the foundation stone laid on May 23, 1992 and the church was consecrated on 15 May 1994 by Johann Weber. The extension to the existing church was by the architect Manfred Fuchs Bichler, and the Austrian painter, graphic artist and architect Ernst Fuchs. The artistic design of the entire complex with bright colors and shapes and impressive lighting effects received critical acclaim.
By the 12th century, the lords of Waldsdorf had established their seat on the site of the present stately home in the shape of a fortified manor house with a large dairy farm. From 1315 to 1605 it was owned by the noble family of Windisch-Graetz. In 1563 major conversion and renovation work was carried out on the castle under the then-owner and designer, Erasmus of Windisch-Graetz, which saw it expanded into a Renaissance style stately home with a courtyard surrounded on three sides by three-storey high, columnar arcades. There is still an underground passage, dating to that period, that runs as far as Graz, but it is impassable after the first several hundred metres.
...
Wikipedia