Historical insights: Zwettl starts video series with contemporary witnesses

A new video series with contemporary witnesses from Zwettl provides exciting insights into the historical events of the community. The series culminates in a presentation of two volumes on the city’s history from the Middle Ages to the 21st century on October 25th.

ZWETTL. For five years, a 15-person team of scientists, supported by the city archivists from Zwettl, examined the history of the city, looked at it from different perspectives and closed research gaps in Zwettl’s city history.
four epochal blocks: Middle Ages, Early Modern Period, 19th Century and 20th/21st Century.
To accompany this, the municipality of Zwettl is launching a video project: contemporary witnesses will tell of their lives and the city’s recent history in short clips. Former mayor Franz Pruckner, long-time kindergarten teacher Edeltraud Schneider, former city archivist and historian Prof. SR Friedel Moll, Zwettl’s first environmental councillor Peter Kastner and the dedicated director and one of Zwettl’s oldest citizens Maria Lux will all have their say.

Start with Edeltraud Schneider

Edeltraud Schneider started on September 6th: she was a kindergarten teacher in Schulgasse from 1965. This kindergarten was the only one in the entire municipality at the time and moved to the building on Hammerweg in 1974. In a first video, Edeltraud Schneider reports where the children came from, how they were cared for and what happened to those children who could not go to kindergarten.
The “Adler und Wald” agency produced the videos together with city archivist Elisabeth Moll, MBA. They are uploaded at regular intervals to the “Stadtgemeinde Zwettl” YouTube channel. The first clip with Edeltraud Schneider can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJbwVdWn21o.

“With this video series, contemporary witnesses provide exciting insights into the historical events of the community, from the merger of the community, life during the war to social changes in the role of women and touching stories.”

explains Elisabeth Moll.

Book presentation on 25 October

Under the technical project management of Friedel Moll and Elisabeth Moll and the organizational project management of Deputy City Director Mag.(FH) Werner Siegl, extensive research work on the individual eras was carried out as part of the project on Zwettl’s city history. The city council also invited historians to several workshops and presentations.
The research results are around 1,200 manuscript pages with many new findings and a completely new and exemplary way of writing the city’s history. Among other things, secrets surrounding the Kuenringer castle are revealed and insights into migration movements in the early modern period are given. Experienced readers will learn exciting things about the construction of the impressive railway bridge, which is now a historical monument, similar to the medieval city wall.

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