LEOBEN

town, Bundesland (federal state) Steiermark, southeast-central Austria, on the Mur River, northwest of Graz. An ancient settlement, it was reestablished as a town by Ottokar II of Bohemia in about 1263. Medieval buildings include the Maria am Waasen Church (12th century, rebuilt 15th century) with magnificent Gothic stained-glass windows, the parish church (166065), and the bell tower that has become a symbol of the city. Leoben is the home of the University of Mining and Metallurgy, established 1840, as well as other technical schools. A centre of upper Styrian lignite mining, the town manufactures iron, textiles, and beer; it is also a tourist centre. The industrial suburbs of Donawitz and Gss were incorporated into Leoben in 1939. Pop. (1981) 32,006.