Wels

Wels is a city in Upper Austria. It is next to the Traun River and close to the bigger city of Linz. Wels is the county seat for the area called Wels-Land.

As of January 2025, 65,482 people live in Wels. This makes it the eighth biggest city in Austria. The city has a long history and is important for the area’s culture and everyday life.

Geography

Wels is in the Hausruckviertel. It is 317 metres above the ground. The town is 9.5 kilometres long from north to south and 9.6 kilometres wide from west to east. A small part of the area, about 3.4%, has trees. About 23.5% of the land is used for farming.

The town has many smaller areas called boroughs, such as Aichberg, Au, Berg, and many others.

History

The area of Wels has been settled since very old times, starting from the Neolithic era between 3500 and 1700 B.C.E. Tools found near the Traun River show this. In the Bronze Age, a cemetery with many graves was found near the current airport.

In Roman times, Wels became important and was named Municipium Ovilava. It had brick houses, a bath, an arena, and an irrigation system. The city grew to hold many people. Later, it was renamed and given special status, with walls built for protection.

During the Middle Ages, Wels was a trading center and received city rights again in 1222. In 1519, Emperor Maximilian I died in Wels.

In the 20th century, Wels became a Statutarstadt of Austria in 1964. During World War II, a subcamp of the Mauthausen concentration camp was located here.

Demographics

Wels is a city in Austria in the area called Upper Austria. It is near the Traun River and close to a larger city named Linz. Wels is an important place in the area. As of January 2025, it had a population of 65,482, making it the eighth largest city in Austria.

Economy

Wels has about 36,000 people who have jobs. Most of these jobs, around 63%, are in services such as shops and schools. The city is a popular place for shopping and has many schools, including special schools for older students and a school for learning job skills. Every year, Wels holds a big fair called the Wels Fair. This fair happens twice—once in autumn and once in spring.

Notable residents

Wels has been home to many interesting people over the years. Some were known for their work in science, like physician and Nobel Prize winner Julius Wagner-Jauregg. Others made their mark in the arts, such as classical pianist Grete Hinterhofer and writer Christoph Ransmayr. The city also saw the birth of notable athletes, including Olympic gold medallist sailor Christoph Sieber and footballers like Christian Mayrleb and Marcel Sabitzer.

• Alois Auer (1813–1869), printer, inventor and botanical illustrator
• Heinrich Brunner (1840–1915), historian
• Hugo Gerard Ströhl (1851–1919), heraldist
• Carl Rabl (1853–1917), physician and anatomist
• Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857–1940), physician, winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1927
• Grete Hinterhofer (1899–1985), classical pianist and composer
• Walter Kolneder (1910–1994), musicologist and violist
• Josef Friedrich Doppelbauer (1918–1989), composer, organist and choral conductor
• Thomas Christian David (1925–2006), composer and performer
• Werner Kreindl (1927–1992), television actor
• Karl Ridderbusch (1932–1997), operatic bass, lived and died locally
• Herbert Lindinger (born 1933), graphic artist, exhibition & industrial designer; designs trains and trams
• Lukas David (1934–2021), classical violinist
• Karin Hannak (born 1940), artist
• Sybil Danning (born 1947), an Austrian–American actress, model, and film producer
• Manfred Buchroithner (born 1950), cartographer, geologist and professor
• Paul Rübig (born 1953), politician (ÖVP), member of the European Parliament
• Christoph Ransmayr (born 1954), writer
• Othmar Commenda (born 1954), retired General of the Austrian Armed Forces worked locally
• Thomas Steiner (born 1956), film director
• Franz Welser-Möst (born 1960), conductor, grew up locally
• Rudolf Anschober (born 1960), Austrian politician
• Stefan Sonvilla-Weiss (born 1961), communication scientist and arts and media educator
• Götz Spielmann (born 1961), film director and screenwriter
• Sabine Derflinger (born 1963), director, writer, producer and dramaturgical consultant
• Norbert Trawöger (born 1971), flautist and artistic director
• Christoph Wigelbeyer (born 1973), choir director, conductor, singer and music educator

Sport

• Max Hagmayr (born 1956), retired footballer, played 286 games and 9 for Austria
• Horst Felbermayr Jr. (born 1970), racing driver
• Christoph Sieber (born 1971), sailor, gold medallist in the Mistral class at the 2000 Summer Olympics
• Christian Mayrleb (born 1972), footballer, top scorer in the top division; played 584 games and 30 for Austria
• Johannes Wipplinger (born 1978), athlete and bobsledder
• Helge Payer (born 1979), football goalkeeper, played 271 games and 20 for Austria
• Kevin Wimmer (born 1992), football player, played 220 games and 9 for Austria
• Felix Großschartner (born 1993), cyclist
• Robert Žulj (born 1992), footballer, played over 300 games
• Peter Žulj (born 1993), footballer, played over 300 games and 11 for Austria
• Marcel Sabitzer (born 1994), footballer, played 370 games and 77 for Austria
• Shamil Borchashvili (born 1995), Austrian judoka; bronze medallist at the 2020 Summer Olympics
• Emma Felbermayr (born 2007), racing driver