Wagrain Castle
| Wagrain Castle | ||
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| Creation time : | around 1200 first document. mention | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin, tw. renovated | |
| Place: | Wagrain (Pongau) municipality | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 20 '0.4 " N , 13 ° 17' 53.4" E | |
| Height: | 840 m above sea level A. | |
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The Castle Wagrain is the ruins of a hilltop castle at 840 m above sea level. A. on the so-called castle hill of the municipality Wagrain in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the province of Salzburg . The castle protected the transition over the Wagrainer Höhe from the Salzachtal to the Ennstal .
history
There were already two watchtowers in Wagrain in Roman times. One of them is likely to be the foundation of the parish church tower. The other stood on the castle hill.
The castle was built by the Lords of Goldegg around 1200; the exact dates are not known. The conveniently located complex was a bulwark against the Salzburg Archbishop , as the Goldeggers always opposed the expansion of sovereign power.
In the controversy over the royal throne between Ludwig IV. The Bavarian and Friedrich the fair , the Goldegger stood on the side of Ludwig, the Salzburg Archbishop Friedrich III. von Leibnitz but on the side of Friedrich. Although Ludwig emerged victorious from the Battle of Mühldorf (1322), the Archbishop of Salzburg had, however, in the course of the fighting a. a. Wagrain Castle destroyed.
This castle was not rebuilt, but the Hofmark Wagrain continued to exist. The Hofmark was incorporated into the Prince Archbishopric of Salzburg and given as a fief . In 1450 Wiguleius and Berhand Grabner received the Hofmark and Goldegg Castle from Tyrol. But they had to do without Goldegg as early as 1463. In 1593 the Welsers were raised to the nobility with the title of Wagrain . Abraham Welser von Labach zu Wagrain died in 1635. The last of the Welsers was his grandson Johann Melchior Welser von und zu Einödberg, Truchseß in Salzburg .
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Wagrain castle ruins today
The castle grounds are located on a spur between the upper and lower sections of the market square, halfway up the church path. The place is protected on all sides by steep slopes. Burgplatz is still 60 × 80 m in size. The courtyard is about 5000 m². The 150 cm thick circular wall has been preserved on the southwest side up to a height of 3 m. Outside the remains of the curtain wall, there is a narrow path that circles the castle grounds. The lower part of a wall with a wall core is also present. The entrance gate was probably located in the eastern wall front. A square stone building, a former tower, was visible here at ground floor level. This tower stood on the foundations of a mighty, free-standing round tower with a wall thickness of about 2.7 m and a diameter of 11.5 m. This was probably the keep of the castle. During the renovation, the remains of the rectangular building that was later built on it were removed. The interior construction in the northwest of the castle plateau was probably the palace hall of the castle with 22 × 13 m; here you can see a square corner and two steps of an outside staircase. The remains of the castle have been restored and supplemented.
A castle house was built on the hill in the 19th century , but the owners moved away in 1939. The ruin was also badly damaged by massive stone robbery (e.g. for the swimming pool construction in 1939), so that the castle disappeared from the consciousness of the population. From the castle there were three underground passages into the market: one to the cellar of the Steinerwirt (walled up in 1878), the second to the castle chapel (market church), the third was discovered in 1929 when the count's inn was being built, but was bricked up because of its dilapidated condition.
On the initiative of the Blue Window cultural association, archaeological excavations have been carried out every year since 2006. During the excavation work for the local art project 3 Hutschen for Wagrain , many finds came to light: ceramics, wall remains and a previously unknown building floor plan that was not recognizable on the surface. Under the direction of Peter Höglinger (Department of Soil Monuments of the Federal Monuments Office and in cooperation with the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Salzburg), the facility was examined and measured with students in a three-week teaching excavation; these archaeological investigations continued between 2006 and 2010. During excavations (2008) in the area of the Zwinger between the hall and the surrounding wall, a dark, carbonaceous layer of earth was discovered; fragments of clay vessels, fragments of glass vessels, crossbow bolts, knives, belt buckles (all made of iron) and finger rings (non-ferrous metal) were found here; likewise three coins that refer to far-reaching trade connections based on their mints (Enns, Salzburg, Munich).
In the grounds of the former Wagrain Castle, boards now provide information about the history and importance of the facility and the special features of the round tower. An exhibition of art objects can also be viewed on a “cultural walk”.
literature
- Friederike Zaisberger & Walter Schlegel : Castles and palaces in Salzburg. Pongau, Pinzgau, Lungau . Birch series, Vienna 1978, ISBN 3-85030-037-4 .
- Peter Höglinger: Wagrain Castle. Find reports from Austria, material booklets (FÖMat A / special issue 11) , Vienna 2010.
Individual evidence
- ^ Benedikt Pillwein (Ed.): History, geography and statistics of the Archduchy of Austria on the Enns and the Duchy of Salzburg . With a register, which is also the topographical and genealogical lexicon and the district map. Geographical-historical-statistical detail according to district commissariats. 1st edition. Fifth part: the Salzburg district . Joh. Christ. Quandt, Linz 1839, p. 447-449 ( Google eBook - Facs. Druckhaus Nonntal, Salzburg 1983). 2nd edition 1843 ( Google Book )
- ↑ The count host. Retrieved January 9, 2014 .
- ↑ Kulturverein Blaues Fenster Wagrain ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
