Enns

Enns, a town of Austria, in upper Austria, 11 m. by rail S.E. of Linz. Pop. (1900) 4371. It is situated on the Enns near its confluence with the Danube and possesses a 15th-century castle, an old Gothic church, and a town hall erected in 1565. Three miles to the S.W. lies the Augustinian monastery of St Florian, one of the oldest and largest religious houses of Austria. Founded in the 7th century, it was occupied by the Benedictines till the middle of the 11th century. It was established on a firm basis in 1071, when it passed into the hands of the Augustinians. The actual buildings, which are among the most magnificent in Austria, were constructed between 1686 and 1745. Its library, with over 70,000 volumes, contains valuable manuscripts and also a fine collection of coins. Enns is one of the oldest towns in Austria, and stands near the site of the Roman Laureacum. The nucleus of the actual town was formed by a castle, called Anasiburg or Anesburg, erected in 900 by the Bavarians as a post against the incursions of the Hungarians. It soon attained commercial prosperity, and by a charter of 1212 was made a free town. In 1275 it passed into the hands of Rudolph of Habsburg. An encounter between the French and the Austrian troops took place here on the 5th of November 1805.

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