Landshut

Landshut, a town in the kingdom of Bavaria, on the right bank of the Isar, 40 m. N.E. of Munich on the main line of railway to Regensburg. Pop. (1905) 24,217. Landshut is still a quaint, picturesque place; it consists of an old and a new town and of four suburbs, one part of it lying on an island in the Isar. It contains a fine street, the Altstadt, and several interesting medieval buildings. Among its eleven churches the most noteworthy are those of St Martin, with a tower 432 ft. high, of St Jodocus, and of the Holy Ghost, or the Hospital church, all three begun before 1410. The former Dominican convent, founded in 1271, once the seat of the university, is now used as public offices. The post-office, formerly the meeting-house of the Estates, a building adorned with old frescoes; the royal palace, which contains some very fine Renaissance work; and the town-hall, built in 1446 and restored in 1860, are also noteworthy. The town has monuments to the Bavarian king, Maximilian II., and to other famous men; it contains a botanical garden and a public park. On a hill overlooking Landshut is the castle of Trausnitz, called also Burg Landshut, formerly a stronghold of the dukes of Lower Bavaria, whose burial-place was at Seligenthal also near the town. The original building was erected early in the 13th century, but the chapel, the oldest part now existing, dates from the 14th century. The upper part of the castle has been made habitable. The industries of Landshut are not important; they include brewing, tanning and spinning, and the manufacture of tobacco and cloth. Market gardening and an extensive trade in grain are also carried on.

Landshut was founded about 1204, and from 1255 to 1503 it was the principal residence of the dukes of Lower Bavaria and of their successors, the dukes of Bavaria-Landshut. During the Thirty Years’ War it was captured several times by the Swedes and in the 18th century by the Austrians. In April 1809 Napoleon defeated the Austrians here and the town was stormed by his troops. From 1800 to 1826 the university, formerly at Ingolstadt and now at Munich, was located at Landshut. Owing to the three helmets which form its arms the town is sometimes called “Dreihelm Stadt.”