Ried im Innkreis

Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria, town in the district of Ried im Innkreis, alt. 429 m, pop. 11,260, area 6.77 km²; principal town and economic centre of the Innviertel Region; traffic junction; well known for its trade fairs: "Rieder Fair" since 1867, agricultural show with large-scale exhibition of breeding cattle and industrial exhibition, biggest auction of Simmental Cattle in Austria; held alternately in spring and in autumn, and alternating between Ried im Innkreis and Wels; music fair and horticultural fair. - District Commission; District Chamber of Agriculture; District Building Authority; District Headquarters of Gendarmerie; Provincial Court and District Court; prison; Inland Revenue Office; Office of Weights, Measures and Surveying; Labour Market Service; livestock breeding office; office responsible for the maintenance of bridges in the Innviertel Region; automobile inspection service; Zehner barracks; Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Labour, regional health insurance institution (local office); General Hospital; district old age and nursing home; New Apostolic and Old Catholic communities; Methodist community; Capuchin guardianship; Redemptorists; Kolpinghaus centre; psychological school service; Caritas service; Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium secondary schools; commercial academy; advanced-level commercial school; federal training institute for kindergarten teachers; vocational school of commerce and trade; Vocational Training Institute; adult education centre of St. Francis; Jahn gymnasium; gallery of the town of Ried, library, auction hall. Ried is an important trading centre; it also manufactures skis, ventilation systems and agricultural machines; technically innovative specialized companies; large-scale dairy, breweries. - Castle (first documented mention in 1140); parish church built on a Gothic ground plan; redecorated in Baroque style by M. Bereiter between 1721 and 1723; band and lattice stuccowork (1725) with ceiling paintings by J. Gold (1884-1893); interior mainly by the local Schwanthaler family of sculptors; subsidiary church of St. Anna (1500); Capuchin church (1644-1651); Riedberg church, built in 1956; Old Catholic church (1893); Innviertler Volkskundehaus (museum of folklore). Stelzhamer monument; fountain figure of Dietmar der Anhanger (1665); main square with Old Bavarian hall character.

Literature: F. Berger, Ried im Innkreis, 2 vols., 1948-1955; M. Bauböck, 100 Jahre Stadt Ried im Innkreis, Festschrift, 1957; Österreichisches Städtebuch vol. I, Die Städte Oberösterreichs 1968; Stadtgemeinde Ried im Innkreis (ed.), Ried im Innkreis. Die Stadt im Zentrum des Innviertels, 1979.