Peuerbach Castle
The Peuerbach Castle is located on the main road (in the center) of the same Upper Austrian town of Peuerbach . It is only the rest of the once magnificent renaissance castle. Still, it's worth seeing. The complex consists of three two-story wings that enclose a courtyard in the shape of a horseshoe. The facades were redesigned around 1830.
history
1366-1559
The first castle was built in 1366 under Count Ulrich II von Schaunberg. In 1383 Heinrich Graf von Schaunberg gave Peuerbach to his underage son Ulrich. His father-in-law, Johann Graf von Abensperg, led the care.
1559-1684
In 1559 the Schaunberg family died out and the castle passed through inheritance to the children of Anna von Starhemberg , sister of Wolfgang von Schaunberg. On September 7, 1571, the castle with its valuable library, archive and armory, as well as the Peuerbach market, burned down completely. The owner at the time, Gundacker XI. von Starhemberg , had the castle rebuilt. In 1593 his son, Georg Achaz, sold the castle to Achaz von Hohenfeld. On March 1, 1626, Baron Wolf Siegmund von Herberstein took over the rule. On May 20, 1626, during the Upper Austrian Peasant War , the market was stormed and taken by the farmers. The lock burned out. After the restoration, Baron Wolf Siegmund von Herberstein sold the castle to Count Johann von Verdenberg in 1635. In 1669, Johann Georg von Kauthen bought the castle and exchanged it with Georg Ludwig Graf von Sinzendorf for Freiling Castle .
1684-1881
The reign of Peuerbach was sold in 1684 by the emperor to his Danish court chancellor Dietrich Heinrich von Strattmann, who in 1688 also acquired the reigns of Haiding and Schmiding. His son, Count Gerhard Wilhelm von Strattmann, united the lordships of Peuerbach, Waasen, Schmiding, Haiding and Spattenbrunn to form an indivisible family property (Fideikommiss) in the form of a majorate. In 1726 the majorate passed to his daughter Franziska Theresia, who married Count Karl von Batthyany. On April 18, 1760, after the death of the last Strattmann, Count Ludwig Ernst von Battyany took over the rule. He was followed by his son Prince Adam Wenzel (1722–1787), then his grandson, Prince Ludwig (1753–1807) and his great-grandson, Prince Philipp (born 1781). In 1777 the approx. 40 m high castle tower was demolished due to - albeit only minor - structural damage on the instructions of the caretaker. In 1825, Philipp Prince Batthyany-Strattmann dissolved the Fideikommiss and divided the property. Peuerbach receives his nephew Prince Alfred Montenuovo, the husband of Countess Johanna Batthyany. In 1831 the western parts of the castle were demolished due to the risk of collapse. The castle received its shape that is still preserved today. The planned new building does not come about. Prince Philipp Battyany died on July 22nd, 1872. In 1881 the castle was owned for one year by the Raab brewery owner Leopold Schatzl.
1882 – today
On April 13, 1882, the market town of Peuerbach acquired the castle and built the district court, post office and tax office in it. From 1923 to 1966 the castle also served as a community or secondary school. In the 1970s a political group was formed in Peuerbach, which went into the municipal council election with the main demand "The castle must go". New parking spaces were to be created in the center and in addition one wanted to save the money for the maintenance. The requirement was quite understandable, as the castle was in a very bad condition at the time. The roof was broken, the walls were unsightly, and the glory of the old days seemed entirely faded. The reason why the castle was still not doomed is mainly due to the city chiefs at the time, who, in memory of the good - and bad - old times, had the idea of a castle's own peasant war museum. Since the first battle of the Peasants' War was fought at the gates of the city, the castle in Peuerbach offered itself as a suitable location for such a museum.
The castle building
Building description
The Peuerbach Castle was, that is clearly, originally a moated castle, which was built on a natural hill and whose moat was excavated. Four square towers protruding from the corners of the curtain wall flanked the four-walled wall - which encloses an inner courtyard. The necessary residential and farm buildings were built backwards onto the wall. This can be demonstrated by the tower fragment - two at the corners of the entrance front and the third in the left wing; the fourth tower is missing, and the right side wing is also shorter than the left. In addition, the rear wall is missing. The high tower, which is so characteristic of the castle, as it can be seen in old pictures, was removed. Its location was at the point where the missing rear transverse wall was integrated into the left wing.
Sparse architectural details and shards of tiled stoves, which came to light during the restoration carried out from 1976 to 1981, bear witness to its former splendor.
Today only a torso of the former complex is preserved, i. H. three horseshoe-shaped two-storey wings / tracts with gable roofs and at the eastern corner the remainder of a small rectangular tower with an onion roof. The missing 4th wing was rebuilt in 2009 with a modern building. The Melodium cultural center and the Peuerbach music school are located in this new building. The four-wing complex, now closed again, in red / pink color, encloses an inner courtyard, which has been covered since 2009 and is used as an extension of the cultural center. A beautiful entrance gate in the Renaissance style allows access to the castle in the east.
A remarkable two-storey entrance portal (Renaissance portal) from 1574 with two life-size, fully plastic knight figures and a heraldic cartouche (Verdenberg) from the 17th century. Above the portal the motto "God bestowed upon grace", as well as an inscription in Latin. The passageway is decorated with the coats of arms of the Schaunbergers and Starhembergers from the end of the 15th century.
In the castle courtyard is the monument to the great son of the community, the important astronomer, mathematician, and humanist Georg von Peuerbach , born on May 30, 1429, died on April 8, 1461.
Todays use
The Peuerbach District Court and a branch of the Post AG are located in the castle. It also houses the Peasant War Museum, the Upper Austrian Nativity and the Georg von Peuerbach exhibition. It is also used as a culture and event center.
Upper Austrian nativity scene
The nativity scene in Peuerbach Castle is a monument to the folk culture of the federal state of Upper Austria. This nativity scene, unique in its kind, shows some of the basic types of rural courtyard forms in the representation of the four regional districts: the Vierkanter , Vierseithof , Mühlviertler Hakenhof and the Mondsee Rauchhaus . In between, more than 200 figures illustrate the respective costumes of the individual parts of the country as well as necessary celebrations from everyday working life: an Innviertel farmer's wedding, Corpus Christi procession , a Georgiritt , the Ebenseer Glöcklerlauf , the Gmundner Liebstatt Sunday , a cattle drive and many other small work groups.
The 15 meter long and partly up to 1.42 meter high rear wall of the state crib shows a representative selection of Upper Austrian cultural sites.
Peasant War Museum
The Peasant War Museum shows the causes, course and consequences of the Peasant War around 1626. Peuerbach Castle was the scene of tragic events several times and is therefore predestined to show the political, confessional, economic and social causes of the peasant uprisings in Upper Austria. This is done with the help of beautifully crafted tin figure dioramas - which depict the individual battles and events very vividly - as well as pictures, graphics and photo documentation, of historical weapons and military equipment. The largest tin figure diorama (the Battle of Kornödt) has 4000 figures on an area of 4 × 2.5 m.
The permanent exhibition also includes a considerable arsenal of weapons from around 1600, including conventional cut, stabbing and firearms, as well as peasant weapons, often made from various reshaped agricultural implements. There are also a number of works of art on the theme of the peasant war. A bell stick, with which the Protestant farmers are said to have called for a storm, also indicates the religious component of the surveys, which is underlined by an Evangelical edification book from the 16th century with woodcuts by Lucas Cranach acquired in the Hausruckviertel .
The cultural and historical background for this dramatic event is formed by a cross-section through the rural and bourgeois material culture of the 17th century. A "black kitchen", costume figurines, a model of a Peuerbach homestead around 1600 and various household items give an insight into rural life at that time.
Description of the illustration of the pewter figure diorama in the Peuerbach Peasant War Museum (The Storm on Peuerbach):
On May 20, 1626, the rebellious farmers besieged Peuerbach as the seat of a manor. The Bavarian occupation initially remained calm and contented themselves with closing the gates. After a fire broke out in the inner market, the soldiers had to retreat to the castle. The peasants were able to conquer it, set it on fire and the next day defeated Count Herberstorff, who was advancing from Linz with thousands of soldiers, on the Ledererwiese.
Georg von Peuerbach exhibition
The exhibition gives a brief instructive overview of the history of astronomy up to the time of Georg von Peuerbach. It shows the close relationship between astronomy and astrology and alchemy at that time. Georg von Peuerbach invented the folding sundial with an integrated compass. The successor models of this artistic pocket chronometer developed into the most popular pocket watch and were built and used until the end of the 18th century. Originals and replicas of these refined timepieces can be admired in the exhibition, along with valuable astronomical instruments that were developed on the basis of Georg von Peuerbach's preparatory work. Precious manuscripts and reproductions of the works of Georg von Peuerbach, his predecessors, students and contemporaries provide an overview of the life's work of this great astronomer, mathematician, humanist and poet for the first time. Even computer geeks will get their money's worth in this varied exhibition. Magnificent comet images can be admired at computer stations on a photo tour through space. A micro-planetarium enables an exact simulation of all sky views and the representation of the constellations from the sun, moon, Mercury to Pluto and eclipses. The movement of the sun and planets against a solid starry sky can be illustrated in a time-lapse animation.
Melodium cultural center
The modern cultural center, which also houses the Peuerbach music school, was opened in November 2009. In the course of the new building, the castle courtyard was also roofed over. The culture hall of the Melodium can be expanded to include the castle courtyard. This creates a capacity of up to 500 seats. In the original castle are the castle hall and the vinotheque (small event room with vaulted ceiling) which can be used for events. Numerous public and private events take place in the Melodium cultural center.
Kometor and Schlosspark
The Kometor is a walk-in celestial body project by the artist couple Billa and Manfred Hebenstreit . The name is composed of the words comet and gate. The cometor is a pentagonal body, also called a dodecahedron . In ancient times, this shape was considered to be the embodiment of the universe. The Kometor was opened on April 30, 2010 as part of the Upper Austrian Provincial Exhibition 2010 Renaissance and Reformation in the castle park. It includes the two levels of experience, the water world and the star dome.
Not only the Kometor itself, but also the palace gardens were designed by the artist couple Hebenstreit. Curved paths lead visitors to the entrance, past a pentagonal mirror object and the fountain on the inclined plane, up to the soaring “compass needle”. With its 36 meters height, it is now the landmark of Peuerbach that can be seen from afar.
literature
- Angelika and Walter Aspernig: Castle history (s) in the Wels-Hausruck region. Museum Association Wels, Wels 2010.
- August Falkner: Peuerbach. The town. City of Peuerbach, Peuerbach 1995.
- Norbert Grabherr : Castles and palaces in Upper Austria. A guide for castle hikers and friends of home. 2nd Edition. Upper Austrian Provincial Publishing House, Linz 1970.
- Oskar Hille: Castles and palaces of Upper Austria. Verlag W. Ennsthaler, Steyr 1990.
- Ilse Schöndorfer: Castles and palaces in Upper Austria. NP-Buchverlag, St. Pölten u. a. 2001.
Web links
- Website city of Peuerbach
- Website Schlossmuseum Peuerbach
- Entry via Peuerbach to Burgen-Austria
- Website cultural center Melodium *
- Cometor website
- Website of the Upper Austrian Museum Association
- Saufedern in action against feudalism Article in the “Wiener Zeitung” of September 29, 2011, supplement “ProgrammPunkte”, p. 7.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Entry about Peuerbach on Burgen-Austria , accessed on January 20, 2012.
- ^ Oskar Hille: Castles and palaces of Upper Austria. Verlag W. Ennsthaler, 1990, p. 131.
- ↑ a b c d e Angelika u. Walter Aspernig: Castle history (s) of the Wels-Hausruck region . Musealverein Wels, 2010, pp. 127–132.
- ^ Julius Strnadt : Peuerbach. A right-historical attempt. In: Yearbook of the Upper Austrian Museum Association. Year 27, Linz 1868, p. 10 (entire article p. 1–634, PDF on ZOBODAT ).
- ^ Norbert Grabherr: Castles and palaces in Upper Austria. A guide for castle hikers and friends of home. 2nd revised edition. Oberösterreichischer Landesverlag, 1970, pp. 109–111.
- ↑ a b c d e August Falkner: Peuerbach The city . City of Peuerbach, 1995.
- ↑ a b Ilse Schöndorfer: Castles and palaces in Upper Austria. NP-Buchverlag, 2001, pp. 148-149.
- ↑ a b c http://root.riskommunal.net/gemeinde/peuerbach/gemeindeamt/html/seite5.html , accessed on January 16, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.peuerbach.at/gemeindeamt/html/153071_1.htm , accessed on January 16, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.peuerbach.at/system/web/sonderseite.aspx?menuonr=220812872&detailonr=220812872 , accessed on January 20, 2012.
- ↑ http://kometor.at/kometor/ , accessed on January 16, 2012.
- ↑ http://neu.kometor.at/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/alles%C3%BCberkometor.pdf , accessed on January 20, 2012.
Coordinates: 48 ° 20 ′ 39.1 ″ N , 13 ° 46 ′ 15.6 ″ E