Luftenberg Castle
| Luftenberg Castle | ||
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 Remains of the curtain wall (exterior view) |
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| Creation time : | 12th Century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Luftenberg on the Danube | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 16 '11.3 " N , 14 ° 24' 35.9" E | |
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Luftenberg Castle is the ruin of a hilltop castle in what is now the municipality of Luftenberg an der Donau in the Perg district in Upper Austria , which was first documented in 1125. At the end of the 16th century, the Luftenberg Castle (Neu-Luftenberg) was built next to it , for which a large part of the castle was demolished.
The exposed location on the Luftenberg high above the Danube opposite the mouth of the Traun gave the location a strategic importance, which led to its early settlement and the construction of fortifications . This also includes the Wallburg am Luftenberg from the late Bronze Age.
description
At the end of the 16th century, significant parts of the once lavishly developed complex were removed and presumably used to rebuild the adjacent Luftenberg Castle. Only remnants of the curtain wall and some bricked parts of the stronghold are present.
The stronghold was built on a 20 × 15 meter large rock protruding from the surrounding area and enclosed by a square ring wall with an internal battlement . In addition to the collection of the later forbidden wine toll from Danube ships, the salt trade on mule tracks in the direction of Bohemia was also of economic importance for the lords of Luftenberg.
Ownership
In 1125 the castle belonged to the noble woman Liutgard, the widow of Ekkerich (Eggericus) de Luffinberc. In 1207 a Hainericus de Lufftnberg is mentioned and in 1220 the castle, which was originally made of wood, was further fortified. The Luftenbergers appear as owners for the last time in 1237.
In 1281 the castle belonged to Mechthild von Neidtperg, and from 1282 ownership of the Veste Luftenberg was divided. One half was awarded in 1282 by Duke Albrecht of Austria, the other half by Heinrich von Weitra from Kuenring . After the settlement of disputes over the property, the Kuenringer waived their claim to property in 1287 in favor of the sovereign. In the 13th century Ulrich II von Kapellen also acquired the Luftenberg Castle with everything that the Rech had as a fief .
From the 1280s onwards, Chunrad and Mechthild Rech, who subsequently named themselves after Luftenberg, were the fiefs of the entire castle. The Rechs appear as Lords of Luftenberg until 1367 and were then replaced by the noble Gruber family from the Mühlviertel . These unlawfully demanded taxes from the Danube ships and set up free landing points at the Luftenberg for goods traffic to the Mühlviertel. They supported the citizens of Freistadt at the expense of the city of Enns .
In the fief book of Duke Albrecht III. After 1374, Jörg von Zwingenstein and Andre der Gruber, together with Siegmund von Steinpach, appear to be the owners of the fortress Luftenberg. After Andre Gruber's death, half of the share went to his daughter Agnes. She married Balthasar von Schallenberg and gave him half of the castle. The other half of the castle including the church fief should have belonged to the Eustach Brodnacher (Frodnacher) at that time. Later, until 1679, only the Schallenbergers appear as lords of the castle.
At the beginning of the 16th century, Luther's teaching found numerous followers among the Upper Austrian nobility. The Schallenbergers set up a school for the aristocratic sons of the area at Castle Luftenberg to spread the Lutheran doctrine and brought in teachers from Lutherstadt Wittenberg , among others. a. the Fridericus Lagus sent by Philipp Melanchthon . As early as 1545, Luftenberg was too small and the school first moved to Enns and later to Linz. Luftenberg is therefore indirectly considered to be the nucleus of the later Evangelical Landscape School of the Estates of Austria ob der Enns and the birthplace of the Academic Gymnasium in Linz on Spittelwiese.
In 1594, Luftenberg was intended as a place of refuge for women and children from the threat of the Turks . In 1635 Martin Aichinger , who came from the rule of Luftenberg, appeared as a Protestant leader of the Machland peasant movement . The Schallenbergers may have returned to the Catholic faith in the course of the Counter Reformation .
Count Christoph von Schallenberg took over the extensive castle-like expansion of the Meierhof (Neu-Luftenberg) and in 1679 had to sell the castle and palace to Helmhart Christoph von Weißenwolff, who united the two lords of Luftenberg and Steyregg .
Mariette Weissenwolff handed over Luftenberg to Helene Szapary in 1923, who became Henriette Thurn und Taxis' successor in 1942 . In 1961 the property came to Karl and Marietta Mensdorff-Pouilly on the basis of an inheritance agreement and their daughter, Marie Antoinette Krassay, has been the owner of the Luftenberg estate since 1978.
literature
- Oskar Hille: Guide to all castles and palaces in Upper Austria . Pages 106–107.
- Oskar Hille: Castles and palaces in Upper Austria . 2nd edition 1992, page 106.
- Norbert Grabherr : Castles and palaces in Upper Austria . 3rd edition 1976, pages 196-198.
- Norbert Grabherr: Historical-topographical manual of the fortifications and mansions of Upper Austria . 1975, page 85.
- Heimatverein and community of Luftenberg an der Donau: Heimatbuch Luftenberg an der Donau . 1997.
- Parish St. Georgen an der Gusen: 700 years of the Church of St. Georg in St. Georgen ad Gusen - parish book . St. Georgen 1988.
- Erhard Wansch: Luftenberg on the Danube - Live and feel good on the outskirts of Linz . In: Association for the publication of a district homeland book Perg - communities of the district Perg: Our home - The district Perg , 1995.
- Federal Monuments Office Vienna (publisher): DEHIO-Handbook Upper Austria, Volume 1, Mühlviertel , Vienna, 2003
- Erwin M. Ruprechtsberger : On the Late Bronze Age in the Linz area , in: Historisches Jahrbuch der Stadt Linz, 2003/4, p. 313ff.
