July 28, 2016 – The Austrian Mint issues the final silver coin in the series „Austria by Its Children, Piece by Piece”, thus honoring each of the provinces of the country. This series has been designed by 9 and 10 year old school children of Austria. The last coin celebrates the province of Upper Austria.
Austria / 10 Euros / Silver .925 / 17.3 g / 32 mm / Design: Thomas Pesendorfer and Herbert Waehner / Winner of competition: Klara Baumgartner / Mintage: 40,000.
The obverse of the coin designed and engraved by Herbert Waehner depicts the UNESCO world heritage and natural wonder of the picturesque town of Hallstadt. The evangelical church is in the foreground and balanced by the catholic church on the hill located in the upper right side. The carefully engraved and very detailed houses cling to the shore line and are tightly packed together on narrow streets. In the foreground is a flat bottom boat built using the traditional design and steered by the bootsman at the stern. The obverse of the coin also features the country of issue, “Republik Oesterreich” Republic of Austria, the year of issue 2016, the face value of 10 euros and the name of the town of “Hallstadt.”
The reverse of the coin depicts the church of Linz on Poestling hill, the coat of arms of the province of Upper Austria in the center which is capped by the crown of the former duke of Upper Austria. To the right of it are three participants of the annual Gloeckler parade wearing “Gloeckler” costumes, with elaborately decorated, handmade hats. In the background on the right side is the famous Traunstein mountain on the edge of the clear blue water lake, known as Traunsee located in the Salzkammergut. This side of the coin was designed by Klara Baumgartner of Dachseberg school, and engraved by mint engraver Thomas Pesendorfer.
The silver “Upper Austria” coin is legal tender and will be available in two finishes, Proof and Special Uncirculated, with a maximum mintage of 30,000 and 40,000 respectively.
The city center of Linz, capital of Upper Austria. Photograph: Rolf Süssbrich / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
Located in the central-northern part of Austria, bordering Germany and the Czech Republic, Oberösterreich is the country’s fourth-largest province by area and the third by population. The capital of Upper Austria is Linz. A city of culture, business and industry which looks towards the future and is located along the Danube River. The river was key to its establishment centuries ago and to the continued growth for many hundreds of years as a major trading port. The city is the birthplace of Anton Bruckner composer, as well as home to physicist Johannes Keppler, the location for a major steel producer and home to the Linzer torte made on nuts, and jam and lots of butter.
The area of Upper Austria is well known for its natural beauty, an enticing place to holiday with green meadows, beautiful mountains, clean rivers and streams. It is a prime area for all outdoor activities both winter and summer; skiing, snowshoeing, climbing, horseback riding, sailing and so on.
Gloeckler parade in Salzburg in 2013. Photograph: User:MatthiasKabel / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
The charming inclusion of several participants in the Gloeckler parade by Klara in her coin design, recalls the annual tradition taking place on January 5th, also known as the twelfth night or Epiphany. On this night people dress up in light or white colored costumes, wear belts with a loud bell attached and elaborate that hats are decorated with lit candles. The medieval belief was that this would chase away the evil spirits of the dark months, bringing salvation and blessings to the area.
More information on this and other issues of the Austrian Mint is available here.
Please find the official website of the city of Linz here.
If you want to read more about the World Heritage region of Hallstatt, please visit this site.
And for watching a Gloeckler parade, please click here.