Wildberg Castle (Kirchschlag near Linz)
| Wildberg Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Wildberg Castle around 1674, engraving by GMVischer |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Wildberg Castle, Wildberg Castle ruins | |
| Creation time : | 12-15 century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Preserved, partly in ruins | |
| Place: | Kirchschlag near Linz | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 24 '10 " N , 14 ° 17' 32" E | |
|
||
Wildberg Castle , also Wildberg Castle , as a castle partially in ruins, is located in the municipality of Kirchschlag near Linz in the Mühlviertel in Upper Austria . Wildberg is the oldest castle complex in the Mühlviertel and has been owned by the Starhemberg family since the High Middle Ages . The castle was a temporary prison for the Bohemian King Wenceslaus in July 1394 and is the scene of Adalbert Stifter's poems .
location
The hilltop castle lies on a mountain peak west of the Mühlviertel Haselgraben at 598 m above sea level. A. Sea level and belongs to the nearby village of Wildberg in the municipality of Kirchschlag, from the center of which the distance as a straight line to the castle in a south-easterly direction is approx. 1.8 km. Wildberg Castle can be reached from Linz via the B126 (approx. 13 km). A hike along hiking trail 11 to Wildberg from Kirchschlag takes about 1.5 hours.
Surname
Wildberg is a cohesive site name that describes the castle location. The first part of the name is derived either from mhd . wilt or wild (= wild, desolate, untamed) or MHG. Wild (= wild) or even of MHG. wilt (= the wild, wild animals) from. In connection with mhd. Bërc (= mountain) the name of the castle means either a wild and desolate mountain or a mountain on which many wild animals were to be found.
history
| year | Documented name |
|---|---|
| 1145 | de Wilperge |
| 1198 (forgery from 1254-1265) |
Castrum Wiltperch |
| 1212 | Wiltperch , Wiltperc |
| 1240 | Wiltperch |
The facility was first mentioned in a document from 1145. It was of particular strategic and economic importance due to its control over the Haselgraben, which, as part of the Linzer Steig, represented an important transport route between Bohemia and the central region of Upper Austria .
The castle was built by the highly free noble family of the Haunsperger , who previously owned Linz. On June 30, 1198, the Wildberg fiefdom went to Gottschalk's son-in-law von Haunsperg-Wildberg , namely Gundaker II von Steyr , the son of Gundaker I who lived at Steinbach Castle and who is considered to be the ancestor of the later Starhemberger family . Wildberg is the oldest seat that is still owned by the family to this day.
Around the middle of the 16th century, a Renaissance building with an arcade was erected between the tower and the Gothic castle. In 1654 a fire raged in the castle, but the damage was soon repaired. From 1664/65 on the site of the former outer bailey castle built. Around 1750, 703 subjects belonged to Wildberg, including Auerberg and Lobenstein . The Wildberg line of the Starhembergers died out in 1857, the castle then fell to the Schaunberg-Eferdinger branch of the family. At the beginning of the 1920s, the roof of the old hall collapsed and sealed the extensive decline of the northern castle area. In 1965 this part was leased from the Starhemberg Forest and Goods Directorate to the Urfahr-Umgebung Heimatverein , which has been trying to secure and repair the castle area since the 1970s. From 1984 the Kulturverein Schloss Wildberg used the castle for artistic purposes.
- Wildberg Castle
Wildberg Castle with bridge
Wildberg Castle seen from the parking lot below
Wildberg Castle with Söller
Entrance gate to Wildberg Castle
Wildberg and King Wenceslaus
In 1394, Wildberg moved into the focus of national politics after the Bohemian King Wenceslaus , son of the late Emperor Charles IV , was captured by rebellious nobles in Prague after disputes within the House of Luxembourg . On July 5, 1394 he was handed over to Kaspar and Gundaker von Starhemberg, who kept him prisoner in a tower room in Wildberg. At the urging of German princes, however, he was released on August 1, 1394. Wenzel was deposed as Roman-German king in 1400 , imprisoned again in Upper Austria at Schaunberg Castle in 1402 and died in 1419 at Wenceslas Castle .
Wildberg and Adalbert Stifter
Adalbert Stifter made Wildberg Castle the setting for his story Julius, which was left in fragments in 1830 . He also mentions the castle in the story The Forest Walker : "... they passed the castle that looks down from the precious stone-sparkling canopy with its old walls and the dark round tower, and where the Bohemian King Wenceslas was once imprisoned ... "
description
Today's castle and castle complex is a building complex stretching from south to north on a fall-back crest of the western slope to the Haselgraben. The total built-up area is 4430 square meters, the main castle occupies 2180 square meters. In the southern, higher part of the complex on the mountain top is the medieval stronghold, which is now in ruins in parts. From the former Palas are in parts of the outer walls, obtained from the former ramparts remnants of the walls. The mighty keep from the 14th century, a round tower with a conical roof and battlements, is well preserved. Its height is 27 m, the wall thickness at the base is 3.45 m.
The inhabited, lower lying castle complex in the north is a three-wing complex from the 15th century, into which parts of the medieval building fabric were integrated. The wings of the building enclose an inner courtyard in a trapezoid, which is closed in the north by a large Gothic gate, from where a bridge leads out of the castle over the deep ditch .
The historically significant complex is structurally in a deplorable condition and urgently needs extensive renovation.
use
The castle has been leased by Gerhard Koller & Andrea Wiesinger GesbR since July 2019 and is operated as a generally accessible event area. In this context, cultural events are again offered.
Castle hike
Wildberg Castle is on the route of the Adalbert Stifter hiking trail. This circular hiking trail (5 km) leads from the village square in Kirchschlag over a wide slope downhill into the Haselgraben to the castle. From the castle there are wide views of the hilly landscape of the Mühlviertel, Linz and the Danube to Wallsee and the Alpine foothills . In good weather, the mountain range of the Alps from the Ötscher to the Traunstein can also be viewed. From Wildberg Castle, the path climbs steeply over the Rudolfsquelle spring to the Badhaus and back to Kirchschlag.
Wildberg Castle and Palace are privately owned by the Starhemberg family. The event areas are leased to Gerhard Koller & Andrea Wiesinger GesbR. Visits are possible on request or as part of public events.
literature
- Herbert E. Baumert, Georg Grüll : Castles and palaces in Upper Austria. Volume 1: Mühlviertel and Linz. Vienna 1988, pp. 67-69.
- Viktor von Handel-Mazetti: The Gemärke von Wildberg. 57th annual report of the Museum Francisco-Carolinum, Linz 1899, 58 pages, text (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at, map (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
Web links
- Entry via Wildberg (Mühlviertel) to Burgen-Austria
- Wildberg Castle at Burgenkunde.at
- Schloss Wildberg website
- Bibliography on Wildberg in the forum OoeGeschichte.at
Individual evidence
- ^ Konrad Schiffmann : Historical place-name lexicon of the state of Upper Austria. 3 volumes. Jos. Feichtingers Erben , Linz 1935 (supplementary volume published by the Oldenbourg publishing house, Munich / Berlin 1940).
- ↑ a b Karl Hohensinner , Peter Wiesinger : Place Name Book of the Province of Upper Austria 10. The place names of the political district Urfahr-Umgebung (Middle Mühlviertel). Vienna 2006, section 10.1.15.15.
- ↑ See the Starhemberg family genealogy: ancestral table of the Starhemberg
- ^ Herbert Bezdek: A king caught on Wildberg. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets . Volume 48, Issue 2, Linz 1994, pp. 176–182 ( online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at).
- ^ František Palacký : History of Bohemia. Third volume, first division: Bohemia under King Wenceslaus IV, until the outbreak of the Hussite War. From the year 1378-1419. Prague 1845, p. 80 ( Google E-book ).