Pragstein Castle

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Mauthausen market coat of arms
Pragstein Castle around 1674, engraving by GMVischer
Mauthausen with Pragstein Castle around 1679, engraving by Martin Zeiler

Pragstein Castle is a castle, often referred to as a castle, in Mauthausen in Upper Austria and on the Danube . It forms the motif of the Mauthausen market arms.

The castle, named after its builder Ladislaus Prager († 1514), also called "Laßla von Prag", was extensively renovated at the end of the 20th century and, in addition to the state music school , the registry office and some event rooms, also includes two museums: the Mauthausen local history museum with Hans Gerstmayr -Exhibition (steel cut) and hunting trophy collection as well as a pharmacy museum , which was set up mainly from the holdings of the Mauthausen pharmacist Norbert Aichberger.

Pragstein Castle has a counterpart: Pragtal Castle in the municipality of Windhaag near Perg . Built in 1564 by Andreas Prager (1514–1569), son of Ladislaus Prager. Torn down in 1680 to obtain building blocks for the Windhaag monastery .

history

Pragstein Castle

The castle was built on a rocky island off the left bank in the Danube . Access to the moated castle, which was washed by the Danube, was only possible via a bridge.

Since Emperor Leopold I lived in the castle for a short time in 1680, Pragstein should have been in good condition at the time. During the Austro-Bavarian War of Succession , the castle was occupied by 66 French soldiers who, however, were taken prisoner on January 5, 1742.

The arm of the Danube, which separated the castle from the mainland, was raised in the middle of the 19th century, and the Danube Road B3 has been running between the castle and the Danube since the 1960s .

owner

Prague coat of arms from 1507. South side of the castle

The castle was built with the permission of Emperor Friedrich III. Erected in the period from 1491 to 1506 by the pledgee of the Mauthausen estate, Ladislaus Prager. After the death of Emperor Frederick, his successor, the Roman German King Maximilian I redeemed the pledge, and Prague family members were allowed to live in it for years afterwards. In 1530 the complex was considered desolate, but because of the Turkish threat it was renovated and manned by mercenaries. After that the building was pledged several times and in 1599 it was again empty. Georg Erasmus von Tschernembl modernized the building in 1603 and Emperor Ferdinand II handed it over to the imperial salt minister Veit Spindler in 1612 , and sold it to Leonhard Helfried von Meggau in 1633 . In 1644 the property was bequeathed to the Cavriani family, who renewed numerous windows, doors and floors. In 1770 Josef Gundaker Graf Thürheim bought the rule.

In 1894 the mayor of Mauthausen, Leopold Heindl, acquired the castle and sold it to the market town of Mauthausen in 1901. The local history museum has been housed there since 1910. The state music school was opened there in 1984 and the Mauthausen Pharmacy Museum was set up in 2007 .

description

The building is pointed on the west side. As a result, the pressure on the lock was broken during flooding and water and ice slipped past the side. Pragstein Castle is an iron-shaped, pentagonal, four-storey building that occupies an area of ​​19 by 35 meters. The exterior view has changed several times, among other things, there were watch towers at the corners in earlier years . The central corridor contains the stairs. The castle had a north gate and a south gate to the Danube. On the north gate of the castle there are high water markers, on the south side of the building the coat of arms of "Laßla von Prag" from the year 1507.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mauthausen Local History Museum. In: ooemuseen.at.
  2. ↑ a b Pharmacy Museum Mauthausen. In: ooemuseen.at.
  3. ^ Entry about Pragstein Castle in the scientific database " EBIDAT " of the European Castle Institute, requested on March 22, 2010.

Coordinates: 48 ° 14 ′ 25.7 ″  N , 14 ° 30 ′ 55.9 ″  E