History

Under the reign of Emperor Caracalla (211-217 AD) Wels was made “colonia” (big city) with the full name “Colonia Aurelia Antoniniana Ovilava”.

Around 300 AD the province was divided under the reign of Emperor Diocletian and Wels became the capital city of “Ufernoricum” (Noricum ripense).

In the late 4^th and early 5^th century the population was largely Christian. This early form of Christianity is documented by the unique “Tombstone of Ursa”, which is also exhibited at the Museum of the City of Wels.

In the year 488 AD the Roman province Noricum was abandoned. The formerly flourishing City of Wels lost its importance.

 The Bavarians settled in the former Roman province around 600 AD. In the southeast part of the former Roman city they build a settlement which is mentioned in a document in 776 as “castrum uueles” for the first time.

 The Babenberger, that is the “Hochstift Würzburg” (Diocese of Würzburg), acquired the settlement of Wels. Wels was referred to as “Markt Wels”, that is as market town, by Leopold VI for the first time in 1215. In 1222 Wels was mentioned in a document as “civitas” (city). At about the same time Wels did probably segregate from the “Grundherrschaftlichen Verband der Burgvogtei”, the alliance of lords of manors within a certain “Vogtei” (bailiwick), and turned into a community of its own.

 After the Babenbergers and a short intermezzo under Ottokar of Bohemia the city was acquired by the Habsburgs. Under their reign Wels gained numerous privileges as the city was flourishing and thus of great importance to the Dukes. The significance of the weekly market is emphasized in the “Markturkunde Herzog Friedrichs”, a deed issued in 1328 by Duke Friedrich which gave order to schedule the weekly market Wednesday instead of Saturday. However, in the 15^th century Saturday is pronounced market day again together with Tuesday. The deed of 1328 is still in possession of the City of Wels and documents the medieval legal practice concerning market towns.

 Wels gained the majority of its privileges under the reign of Rudolf IV (the Founder) and Duke Albrecht III. Rudolf IV, for instance, exempted Wels from all taxes on (alcoholic) beverages, which were served within or brought to the area of the city. Albrecht III granted to the city the so-called “Stapelrecht” on April 28, 1372. The “Stapelrecht” was a privilege for the market town as it granted that all logs which were transported on the river Traun had to be put up for sale for three days in Wels. This practice was actually a big privilege for the city, as there was rich forestry along the “Alm” and the “Vöckla”, two tributaries of the river Traun. The timber was transported on the Traun in large quantity and was offered for sale to the citizens of Wels, who formed the “St. Nicolaj-Colliery and Fraternity of Raftsmen and Traders”. Members of the colliery were allowed to re-sell the timber at a profit.

 In the Medieval Times the city was governed by a city council which was elected by the citizenry. One member of the city council was elected town magistrate and suggested to the sovereign, who finally appointed him. The town magistrate held the “Blutbann”, the right to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment and death penalty. Additionally, the city council appointed a scribe and the administration officials. From the 16^th century onwards the city council appointed also a mayor who governed the city together with the town magistrate.

In the 16^th century the Protestant Reformation movement gained ground in Wels and soon the majority of citizens was protestant. The new religion was also adopted by the nobility of Wels, among them the Pollheimer Family who owned the city palace (still in existence). The Reformation was also the reason why the “Minoritenkloster”, the friary of the Conventional Franciscans, which was founded 1280/83 by Bishop Weikhard of Pollheim, was practically closed in the 16^th century. All in all, the City of Wels flourished in the 16^th century. However, there were also sad times, as for example in the first half of the 16^th century. The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died on January 12, 1519 between three and four o’clock in the morning in the Castle of Wels. He was also called “The Last Knight” as he lived at a time when the Late Middle Ages started to give way to Renaissance. The emperor spent a lot of time in Wels and granted the city many a privilege.

The Counter Reformation started towards the end of the 16^th century. In the 17^th century the Counter Reformation caused many wealthy protestant citizens of Wels to move from the city. Additionally, the Peasants’ War destroyed the suburbs in 1626 and people were suffering from the effects of the Thirty Years’ War. All of this caused economic dislocation. Wels recovered only slowly.

In the 18^th century the center of the city was rebuilt in Baroque style, with the master builders Johann Michael Prunner and Wolfgang Grinzenberger taking a leading part. The picturesque Baroque Facades on Stadtplatz, the main square, today still remind of that period.

In the 19^th century also Wels was influenced by the general technological advances. The river Traun lost its former importance for transportation as the railroad became the most important means of transport. Wels was connected to the railroad network in 1835/36 by the construction of the Horse car Railway Budweis-Linz-Wels-Gmunden. Soon the horsecars were replaced by steam locomotives on the route Linz-Wels-Gmunden. The first test drive was made in 1854, regular railway service with steam locomotives commenced on May 1, 1855, with the railway line leading over Kaiser-Josef-Platz. In 1859, however, the route Linz-Wels-Gmunden was discontinued as the Kaiser-Elisabeth-Railroad, today’s “Westbahn”, the Austrian Western Railway, was built.

In the second half of the 19^th century numerous industrial firms were established. At that time three of the four gate towers as well as the moat were destroyed, and the Ringstraße was built. The “Ledererturm” is the only gate tower which is left. It has become the town’s landmark, even if it has lost most of its medieval characteristics.

The most important mayor of those days was Dr. Johann Schauer (1887-1914), who contributed significantly to the development of the city.

In 1878 the “Welser Volksfest”, the famous trade fair, was founded by citizens and businessmen of Wels. Since then Wels has been an important location for national and international trade fairs.

 Of course, Wels suffered severely during World War I and World War II. During World War I Camillo Schulz was mayor of the city (1914-1918). He combated the severe shortage of food and was rewarded for his effort to grant food supply.

 After the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi regime in 1938, today’s urban area was formed by incorporation of the formerly independent boroughs Pernau, Lichtenegg, and Puchberg.

 In 1944 and 1945 Wels was under massive air attacks. 286 houses were destroyed altogether, 437 were damaged.

 In the post-war period the city was confronted with severe problems. Former prisoners of the concentration camps moved through Wels and brought Typhoid Fever to the city, so that the City Government had to take measures in order to fight the epidemic. Tensions also arose as there were many foreign workers, the “Volksdeutsche” (ethnic Germans), the “Heimatvertriebene” (citizens of the former Austor-Hungarian Empire), and the Imperial Germans, in Wels. Some of them were repatriated or emigrated, others stayed in Wels.

 Additionally, there were also severe problems concerning the city’s supply of basic commodities until 1948. However, the economic boom soon set in. When the attorney Dr. Koss was elected mayor on November 11, 1949, Wels started to recover economically. Dr. Koss’s successor as mayor was Leopold Spitzer. It was in his term of office, on January 18, 1964, that the city was bestowed upon its own statutes. The City of Wels had risen to a statutory city.