ASSET Conference Potsdam on Historic Small Towns ECOVAST AUSTRIA European Council of the Village and Small Town ASSET Conference Potsdam on Historic Small Towns 16. November 2010 Historic Small Towns, the neglected asset of the rural Europe. Neglected by science, authorities and the Commission. They do not have any lobby. They urgently need public and private care.

BRASOV (RO): This picture clearly shows four of the five main tangible criteria that in our view make a historic small town: The central square, the (unbroken line of) historic facades the dense, historic settlement with the narrow lanes and the dominating building (in this case the old town hall), - missing (or not in sight of this view) are the fortifications (walls)

MURAU (AT) with (only) 2.171 inhabitants, the (remote) small historic town in Styria where the “First Middle European Symposium on Small Towns” took place in 1998. The majority of the European small towns are historic small towns. They are essential part of Europe´s identity and they are unmistakable individuals.

WAIDHOFEN at the river Ybbs (AT) was the venue of the second symposium on small towns 2002. In contrast with Murau it is a flourishing small historic town of 5.767 inhabitants due to a flourishing iron industry nearby.

GRIESKIRCHEN (AT), venue of the 4th Symposium of Small Towns in 2009 GRIESKIRCHEN (AT), venue of the 4th Symposium of Small Towns in 2009. Like Murau and Waidhofen a.d.Ybbs it is a district capital in Upper Austria. What makes a (historic) small town nowadays? Besides the historic criteria the town has to fulfil certain functional factors for its hinterland or region.

Example of a functioning (very) small historic town in the district of Murau (Styria): OBERWÖLZ (AT), less than 1000 inhabitants but with remarkable remnants of fortification and three historic entrances, wide enough for normal passenger cars. This is the view through the “North Gate” onto the longitudinal central square.

BASCARA (ES): This historic Catalonian small town at a relevant strategic crossing of a river gains its identity from the famous vaulted historic bridge. It is a famous halt of tourist excursions.

HALLSTATT (AT) : This famous historic town in the World Heritage Cultural Landscape gains its identity from thousands of years salt mining until today, the magnificent surrounding landscape and its specific fabric

Just as characteristic and different from each other as the towns themselves are their surrounding landscapes (hinterland and region). This is a prominent part of the landscape around Murau with the well renowned Benedictine monastery St. Lambrecht the middle sited mountains of the (Styrian) “Wood Region”, and the snow covered mountains of the Lower Tauern in the distant background.

RETZ (AT), the historic small town in the Wine Quarter (Lower Austria), 4.114 inhabitants, where the Third Symposium on Small Towns took place in 2005. The event was organised on the request of SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) who wanted to discuss the problems of the market towns with Middle European partners. At this event also the “ASSET Project” was born. The central place, often with a well, frequently to day is taking up again its historic role for socialising.

The hinterland of, the landscape around Retz is a wine landscape The hinterland of, the landscape around Retz is a wine landscape. This landscape without significant change transgresses the state border between Austria and the Czech republic even in the time of the iron curtain. The border line is invisible! To the West there is the threshold into the adjoining landscape the Wood Quarter with striking difference of climate, vegetation, landform and land use though only some two hundred meters higher.

Market towns sometimes posses features that match the criteria of authentic small historic towns, like these facades at the central square of Obernberg (AT) in Upper Austria. To a limited extent they sometimes also fulfill some of the functional criteria for small towns (but normally they will not have hospitals or school centres).

Small Town Register of Austria (excerpt) Small Town Register of Austria is an ongoing process, that the team of ECOVAST AT is developing.

St. VEIT (AT) The central place of the well renowned historic small town in central Carinthia.