Maßenburg
| Maßenburg | ||
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 Vischer - Engraving of the Maßenburg 1681 |
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| Creation time : | End of the 13th century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Leoben | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 22 '32 " N , 15 ° 5' 48" E | |
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The Maßenburg is the ruin of a hilltop castle on the Maßenberg in the south of the old town of Leoben in Styria in Austria . The St. Jakob church is located at the foot of the Maßenberg .
Building
The castle was built at the end of the 13th century; Initially, only the hexagonal main tower, which was located in the middle of the building and whose eastern edge was directed towards the entrance of the castle, was probably made of stone . The foundation walls are still visible today. To the west of it were wooden farm and residential buildings , to the east of the tower the outer bailey with access to the castle.
In the 14th century, the western wooden buildings were replaced by a stone nave. In the 16th century, the castle was expanded under Veit Zollner . This is how the circular cannon was built to the south of the tower, and a round gate tower with access, the so-called "dog's beard", was also built.
To the west of the gate tower towards the main tower, a residential building was built, the corners of which were provided with round oriel turrets. To the east of the new gate tower, a farm yard was built, which was closed off by a gate building, which is the only completely preserved building to this day.
history
The settlement of Leoben was moved to the Murschleife by King Ottokar II in 1260 . The newly founded city was naturally protected from three sides by the Mur. To better protect the south side, the so-called "upper house" was built on the Maßenberg after 1260. The castle was handed over to the knightly family of Maßenberg, who are related to the Timmersdorf family. After pulling the extent Berger, the castle was used as a country princely fiefs passed several noblemen as a fief.
In 1440 the castle was owned by King Friedrich III. handed over to Christof Hofmann zu Formbach. In 1494, the chief imperial mountain judge, Hans von Malti, succeeded the fortress. In 1502 the fortress was dilapidated. With the imperial order to restore the castle, the Eisenerz bailiff and forester Hans Haug received the Maßenburg.
After the castle was made ready for defense again, it was given to Veit Zollner as a pledge in 1518 . During his rule the castle was expanded and modernized. In 1528 the castle was given to him as a hereditary fiefdom for his services during the Peasants' War of 1525.
After the castle was damaged again in 1542, it was repaired again in 1543 and armed with guns. After Veit Zollner's death in 1570, his wife Anna received the property, followed by the sons Erasmus and Peter Zollner. Later the castle came to Gottfried Freiherr von Stadl , after his death in 1627 to Gotthard von Zollner, whose way of life led the Maßenburg rule in such high debts that his son had to pledge the property to the Admont Abbey in 1658 .
After his death, his son Sigmund Friedrich von Zollner received the inheritance. In 1694 Ernst Freiherr von Teufenbach inherited the Maßenburg, whose further debts led to the castle being confiscated from the Styrian estates.
After paying the outstanding taxes, the castle was given to Countess Anna Maria von Wurmbrand-Stuppach as a fief in 1711 . In 1732 her daughter Countess Maria Theresia Stürgkh inherited the castle.
The castle was still well preserved until 1820, when it began to decline. The Maßenburg was handed over to Count Karl Leopold Stürckh for the last time as a princely fiefdom in 1860. However, at that time only the foundation walls were preserved.
In 1937 the overgrown walls of the ruin were excavated and restored. In 2000 the ruin was restored again and opened to the public. The four-sided fortified tower towards the west was provided with a modern viewing platform from where one has a view over large parts of the city of Leoben.
etymology
According to F. Lochner, place name , "Massenberg (c. 1160 Massenberch) w. Trofaiach" contains the Middle High German word meiz "Holzschlag"; see also mhd. meizel "chisel"; from this prehistory the form Maßenberg or Maßenburg ( i.e. long a) is understandable, which appears in quite relevant sources: F. Tremel, Land an der Grenz ; F. Brauner, Styrian Heimathefte ; official Austrian map 1: 50,000 of the surveying office u. a.
literature
- Herwig Ebner: Castles and palaces in Styria, Mürz Valley and Leoben ISBN 3850300390
- Rudolf List: The mountain town of Leoben (c.1948)
Web links
- Entry via Maßenburg to Burgen-Austria