Kniepass fortress

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Kniepass fortress

The Kniepass fortress is located in the municipality of Unken in the Zell am See district of the state of Salzburg in Austria (Unkenberg 1).

history

In the area of ​​the Kniepass there are traces of Bronze Age settlement. But also from the early Middle Ages (9th and 10th centuries) finds were made that suggest a defensive system here. The dam is called Chniepoz in 1350 . Because of the constant flooding through the Saalach , the road running on a slope bridge at the Rosskogelhang near the Saalach was moved to a higher level and carved into the rock under Archbishop Markus Sittikus and according to plans by the court architect Santino Solari . The building inscription above is still there:

Memorial plaque on the Kniepass

" Marcus Sitticus ex comitibus in Altaemps, archiepiscopus Salisburgensis et priceps, viam hanc ad perpetuam firmitatem publicae comodidati e durissimo silice aperuit anno Dni. Et praesulatus II. MDCXIIII. "

- Quoted from Friederike Zeisberger & Walter Schlegel (1978, p. 143)

When the Archbishops of Salzburg passed through, the passport crew had to fulfill duties of representation. For this purpose, wooden banquets were set up along an elliptical ravelin, on which 50 armed country folk had to parade. In 1747 the rotten banquets were removed by order of Artillery Lieutenant Geyer. In 1707 the landscape wanted to abolish all superfluous fortifications in the country. Archbishop Johann Ernst Thun spoke out against it. In the war years 1742–1745, the Kniepass could be reoccupied with riflemen. After that, the court war council canceled the passport function and the landscape left the complex to the court chamber in return for assuming the maintenance costs. From 1766–1794 the hunter and forest master von Unken lived in the building. Thereupon the landscape wanted to sell the remnants of the rough feud years , but this prevented Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo . So the system could be used again for national defense during the French Wars. When the Steinpass could no longer be held in 1805 , Field Marshal Count St. Julien withdrew behind the Kniepass. On September 25, 1809, in the course of the offensive led by Josef Speckbacher against the Bavarians under General Rechberg , initial successes came about, but ultimately ended in a defeat for the Salzburg defenders. Since these events, the fortress has lost its function.

From 1830 families again lived in the old walls, most recently Johann and Genoveva Pletzer until 1965. In 1969 Genoveva died, Johann moved to the old people's home in Leogang and died there in 1971. The living conditions of the family with their four children were extremely modest: the gate building served as a stable for two goats. The current smoke kitchen was a storage room. The family lived in the team building. Only one room could be heated. The daylight came through small windows. There was no electric light or running water. The water had to be brought from a small spring near the Pfannhauswand and from the Saalach in the event of prolonged drought.

In the last days of April and the first days of May 1945, anti-tank barriers were erected on the road below the fortress. The anti-tank barriers were intended against the US Army of the 101st Parachute Division, which was already in Bavaria, but they were no longer used due to the previous surrender of Army Group South of the German Wehrmacht under Field Marshal Albert Kesselring .

  • Kniepass fortress

  • View from the main road

  • Gatehouse and wall

  • Main building with loopholes

  • Rear access

Kniepass fortress today

The fortress is located below the Pfannhaus wall. It is enclosed by a 2.5 m high wall. The former exit gate to the east leads through the gate building into the interior of the weir system. The large log house consists of a ground-level, clapboard-roofed part with a smoke kitchen and a main wing. The battlements for the guards were under the pitched roof . The steep shingle roof is equipped with loopholes in all four directions . The gate building now houses the reception and a small kitchen. A cistern built in 1673 was no longer in operation by 1800.

The fortress has been owned by the State of Salzburg since 1981, which extensively renovated the complex in the following years with the help of the Unken Museum Association. Today a museum is housed here, which, in addition to the past of the fortress, also deals with prehistoric and early historical finds from the Saalachtal ; the oldest finds are stone chips from the late Paleolithic , which were made 10,000 years before Christ. You can also see artifacts from the copper, bronze, Hallstatt and Roman times from sites in the lower Saalach valley. In a permanent exhibition, rock carvings can be seen in the lower Saalach valley . Temporary exhibitions have also been shown since 1994. In the lower part of the inner courtyard there is a stage for concerts and performances. It is planned that the Kniepass fortress will be comprehensively renovated by around five and a half million euros from 2020 until the planned reopening in 2021. Construction work is scheduled to begin in spring 2021, and the fortress will be extensively renovated for around 6.3 million euros.

literature

Web links

Commons : Kniepass fortress  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kniepass fortress is being revived. In: salzburg.ORF.at. December 11, 2018, accessed December 11, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Kniepass fortress becomes a place of experience. In: salzburg.ORF.at. July 4, 2019, accessed July 5, 2019 .

Coordinates: 47 ° 38 ′ 1.5 ″  N , 12 ° 43 ′ 39.6 ″  E