Reichenau castle ruins
| Reichenau castle ruins | ||
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.jpg) Reichenau castle ruins today |
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| Alternative name (s): | Reichenau castle ruins | |
| Creation time : | 1315 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Reichenau in the Mühlkreis | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 27 '11 " N , 14 ° 20' 50" E | |
| Height: | 730 m above sea level A. | |
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The castle ruin Reichenau (also: Castle ruin Reichenau ) is the ruin of a hilltop castle at 730 m above sea level. A. in Upper Austria and is located in the municipality of Reichenau in the Mühlviertel . The castle was built around 1315 and has been owned by the Starhembergs since 1630. In 1750 the castle was converted into a palace, from 1930 it became a ruin, which was only poorly renovated in the 1960s. The inner courtyard is now used as the venue for the “Reichenau Castle Festival”.
Surname
The name with the ending -au, which is rather untypical for a hilltop castle, can probably be seen in connection with the previous castle in the valley, to which the first documentary mentions refer: Mhd. ouwe means a piece of land surrounded by water. Reichenau lies in a narrow valley on the Great Gusen , which is formed in the village by the confluence of the Rohrbach and Grasbach rivers. Rîch or rîche (= rich, powerful, precious) in conjunction with -au probably indicates the area's scenic or economic wealth. It is worth mentioning in this context that the rows of fruit in the fields visible on the Vischerstich can be seen as vines. Wine could be grown in the Mühlviertel due to the climatic conditions in the Middle Ages - the place name of Schloss Weinberg refers to this . From the parts of the name, the dative name of a place (zur) rich Au, which was customary in the Middle Ages, gave rise to the joined name Reichenau .
history
| year | Documented name |
|---|---|
| 1209 | Richenowe |
| 1250 | Richerawe |
| 1305 | Richŏwe |
Older documentary mentions suggest a previous facility in the valley near the town of Reichenau. Already in 1209 a Salmannus de Richenowe is mentioned as the owner. In the 16th century, an old wall is mentioned below the church.
In 1315, Waither von Marschalich (also: Marschalk), a ministerial of the Passau bishops , had today's castle built on the Pirchberg. In 1359 Eberhard V. von Walsee bought the castle from Hans von Reichenstein. In 1379 it went back to the Lords of Marschalich. Georg von Marschalich got into a dispute with the population because of his tithe claims, the governor of the time decided in favor of the lord of the castle. In 1575 the Marschalich died out on Reichenau. The citizen of Freistadt Jakob Röttl bought the castle from the heirs. Since 1569 he was enfeoffed by the Passau bishop with her. In 1590 Joachim Stangl zu Waldenfels bought the castle from Veit Röttl. At the time of the Turkish threat around 1594, the castle served as a refuge for the population.
Around 1630 Heinrich Wilhelm von Starhemberg bought the castle from the heirs of Stangl. To this day the castle belongs to the Starhemberg family. Heinrich and his successors used the castle as a hunting lodge. After a fire in 1750, the castle was converted into a palace. In this year (1750) 467 subject houses belonged to the Reichenau lordship. The castle was neglected in the 19th century and when the forest staff left the castle in 1930 it became a ruin. The Heimatverein Urfahr-Umgebung leased the facility in 1955 and began renovating individual parts. It was only in 1966 that the ruins could be made accessible to the public again. The entire facility has not yet been renovated. Since 1955 the castle has been used in summer as the backdrop for the “Reichenau Castle Festival”.
- Reichenau castle ruins
Reichenau castle ruins: complete complex
Reichenau castle ruins: entrance gate
Reichenau castle ruins: retaining walls
Reichenau castle ruins: inner courtyard
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description
The castle, built in 1315, is located on a hill southwest of Reichenau. The circular wall was built around 1521 and is still largely preserved. The main residential wing no longer has any false ceilings. The keep built on the west wing is hollow on the inside. Only the inner walls of the Gothic chapel are left; part of it fell into the moat in 1964 . The best preserved part before the renovation was the tower and gate wing, in which the Starhemberg employees lived until 1930. The complex was surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge .
Inside you can see an inner courtyard with a bay window and stair tower from the 16th century. Today this inner courtyard is used as a theater stage. The ruins can be reached from the village via hiking trail 60.
literature
- Herbert E. Baumert, Georg Grüll : Castles and palaces in Upper Austria . Volume 1: Mühlviertel and Linz . Vienna 1988, p. 80f.
- Georg Grüll: Castles and palaces in the Mühlviertel . Birken Verlag, Vienna 1962.
- Oskar Hille: Castles and palaces of Upper Austria . Wilhelm Ennsthaler, 2nd edition, Steyr 1992, ISBN 3850683230 .
- 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).
Individual evidence
Web links
- Entry via Reichenau (in the Mühlkreis) to Burgen-Austria
- Floor plan of the Reichenau castle ruins
- Reichenau Castle Festival
- Picture gallery of Reichenau