Editing Wiener Neustadt (section)

==History==
{{More citations needed|section|date=July 2021}}

The area once belonged to the County of [[Pitten]], which had been inherited by Margrave [[Ottokar III of Styria]] in 1158. After the dynasty of the [[Otakars]] became extinct with the death of his son [[Ottokar IV of Styria|Ottokar IV]], the [[Duchy of Styria]] passed to the [[Archduchy of Austria|Austrian]] [[House of Babenberg]] according to the [[Georgenberg Pact]]. Duke [[Leopold V, Duke of Austria|Leopold V of Austria]] established the town called Neustadt in 1194<ref>{{cite book| last = Buttlar| first = Gertrud| title = Wiener Neustadt Geschichte, Kunst, Kultur, Wirtschaft| year = 1993| isbn = 978-3-7003-1032-7| page = 3 }}</ref> and financed the construction of a fortress close to the [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] border with the ransom paid for the English king [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]], whom he had previously captured and held as a hostage at [[Dürnstein]] Castle. In 1241, a small [[Mongol]] squadron raided Neustadt during the [[Mongol incursions in the Holy Roman Empire]] but was later repulsed by Duke Friederich and his knights.<ref>Howorth, Henry Hoyle. ''History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century: Part 1 the Mongols Proper and the Kalmyks''. Cosimo Classics (January 1, 2013). p. 152. {{ISBN|978-1605201337}}</ref> In 1246, it was the scene of a victory of the Hungarians over the Austrians.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Wiener-Neustadt|volume=28|pages=622–623}}</ref>

Neustadt gained important privileges that enabled the city to prosper. It remained a part of Styria, which after the 1278 [[Battle on the Marchfeld]] fell to the [[House of Habsburg]] and in 1379 became a constituent duchy of [[Inner Austria]]. In the 15th century, Wiener Neustadt experienced a population boom, when Emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III of Habsburg]] took up a residence here and established the [[Diocese of Wiener Neustadt]] in 1469. His wife, [[Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress|Eleanor of Portugal]], died in Wiener Neustadt in 1467. The late Gothic church of the old [[Cistercian]] abbey contains a monument to her memory.<ref name="EB1911"/> The ''Wappenwand'' (coat-of-arms wall) at the local castle displays the coats of arms of his possessions in the middle. His son [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] maintained his court in Wiener Neustadt and is buried here at St. George's Cathedral. The town then also had a significant [[Jews|Jewish]] commune with Rabbi [[Israel Isserlin]] as its most notable member, until all Jews were expelled by order of Emperor Maximilian I in 1496.

Habsburg's long-time rival King [[Matthias Corvinus of Hungary]] conquered the city in August 1487 after having laid [[Siege of Wiener Neustadt|siege to it for two years]]. According to legend he dedicated the magnificent Corvinus Cup to the inhabitants after his victory. Maximilian I managed to reconquer his native city in 1490. During the 16th century, Wiener Neustadt lost its status as imperial residence and much of its importance. However, it still fulfilled its function as bulwark against the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]] and the [[Kuruc]].

It was at Neustadt that the emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]] granted to the Bohemian [[Protestant]]s, in 1609, the {{lang|de|Majestätsbrief}}, or patent of equal rights. The revocation of this patent helped to precipitate the [[Thirty Years' War]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

In 1751 the city received greater attention when Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria]] decided to dedicate the First Military Academy, worldwide, inside the imperial castle. In 1752, the [[Theresian Military Academy]] took up its operations, which have continued to this day with only a few interruptions ([[Erwin Rommel#Between the wars|Erwin Rommel]] was appointed commandant after the Austrian ''[[Anschluss]]'' in 1938). In 1768, Wiener Neustadt was destroyed by an earthquake that damaged the castle, which was rebuilt using plans made by the architect [[Nicolò Pacassi]].<ref>Gerhartl, ''Wiener Neustadt'', p. 332</ref> In 1785, Emperor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II of Habsburg]] transferred the see of the Wiener Neustadt diocese to [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten|Sankt Pölten]].

In the 19th century the city, which was almost entirely rebuilt after a destructive fire in 1834,<ref name="EB1911"/> became an industrial town, especially after the opening of the [[Austrian Southern Railway]] in 1841. In 1909, the "first official Austrian airfield" was inaugurated north of the city.<ref name="stadtmuseum">{{cite web|title=Cradle of the Austrian aviation|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stadtmuseum.wrn.at%2Fgeschichte%2Fgeschichte.asp%3FID%3D39&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8|access-date=2009-09-15|work=Wiener Neustadt history |publisher=stadtmuseum.wm.at}}</ref> It served as a training ground for the flight pioneers [[Igo Etrich]], [[Karl Illner]] and [[Adolf Warchalowski]], who conducted their tests there.

The [[Austro-Hungarian strike of January 1918]] was started in Wiener Neustadt by workers from the [[Austro-Daimler]] factory, which was engaged in arms production, and inspired by the [[October Revolution|Bolshevik seizure of power]] to take strike action to oppose the war. A key factor in the strike was the halving of the flour ration. Porsche met the workers and agreed to drive to Vienna to speak to the Minister of Food. However his plea to the workers to return to work was ignored and they marched on the Town Hall. Here they were joined by other workers from the [[Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik|locomotive factory]], the radiator works, the [[Wiener Neustadter Flugzeugwerk|aircraft factory]] and local ammunition plants of G. Rath and the Lichtenwörther. On 14 January over 10,000 workers gathered outside the town hall to complain about the halving of the flour ration. Inspired by the [[Russian Revolution]] the workers set up [[Workers Council]]s.

During [[World War II]], [[strategic bombing during World War II|strategic targets]] in Wiener Neustadt, including the marshalling yards, the [[List of military aircraft of Germany by manufacturer#WNF, Wiener Neustadter Flugzeugwerk|Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke (WNF)]] factory,<ref name="Wernfried">{{cite book |author2=Schroeder Walter | last = Wernfried| first = Haberfellner| title = Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke. Entstehung, Aufbau und Niedergang eines Flugzeugwerkes| year = 1993| publisher = Weishaupt Verlag, Graz| isbn = 978-3-7059-0000-4 }}
</ref> and two [[Raxwerke]] plants which used [[unfree labor|forced laborers]] imprisoned at [[Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp]], were repeatedly [[Bombing of Wiener Neustadt in World War II|bombed]]. Bombing operations such as [[Pointblank directive|Operation Pointblank]] left only 18 of 4,000 buildings undamaged.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geheimprojekte.at/t_wnfwerk1.html|title=Wiener Neustadt - Flugzeugwerk|access-date=2008-06-05|archive-date=2008-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417201546/http://www.geheimprojekte.at/t_wnfwerk1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>