Waidhofen an der Thaya

Waidhofen stands on the Thaya in the northern Waldviertel, close to the Bohemian and Moravian borderlands. First recorded in 1171, it received town rights in 1230. Its frontier position exposed it to repeated attacks from Bohemia; conditions became more settled after the Habsburgs acquired Bohemia and Moravia in 1526. Textile work carried out in homes throughout the surrounding countryside brought economic growth in the late seventeenth century, making Waidhofen an important centre of manufacturing in the Waldviertel.