Castle Rif

The Rif Castle is located in the cadastral Taxach the city of Hallein in Hallein district of the province of Salzburg (Schloßallee 49). It is a listed building.

history

In 1125, the name of a Fridericus de Rifaren appears in a document from Count Berengar von Sulzbach, who could be localized in Rif. A document issued by Emperor Friedrich II contains the name Riue, which is derived from the Latin ripa (= bank) ; the property in question was owned by the Salzburg cathedral chapter . In 1250 the brothers Otto and Kuno von Guetrat were enfeoffed with the Rif estate in exchange. After the Guetrater died out, the estate was given to farmers as a bag loan (Rif was owned by Leonhard Muschl for 50 years and then owned by several farmers in the area). In 1495 Leonhard Griesenawer sold it to Cristannus Nuecht, who handed it back to his son Steffan. Cristoff Perner von Rettenwörth bought it from him in 1533. Cardinal Matthäus Lang gave his advice and chamber clerk "the Guet Ryff was so detailed in four Gueth sambt der Oberloch vnd Thiergarttenloch" in exchange as a knight's fief . Under Perner, the seat was largely given its current shape.

In 1557 Archbishop Michael von Kuenburg consecrated the Georgs Chapel in the castle as "Capella Regia" ("royal court chapel"; not repealed until 1860; the altarpiece with the removal of the cross came to St. Peter's Abbey in 1860 ). After his bankruptcy , Cristoff Perner had to surrender his entire property, Rif came to Archbishop Johann Jakob Khuen von Belasi in 1560 . He had the castle converted into a summer residence with water features. In 1572 part of the wall that still surrounds the property was destroyed by flooding. Archbishop Georg von Kuenburg placed his stud in the castle in 1586 . In 1704 the castle housed a barley malt house for the court brewery in Kaltenhausen . In 1831 a fire destroyed the south wing, which towered over the rest of the building by one floor. This wing was not rebuilt.

In a picture from 1800, Rif is shown as a four-story building with a moat roof. In the east there was a pond in which mainly carp were raised. In the Franziszeischen Cadastre from 1830 the castle is already referred to as a ruin. The castle, together with the Kaltenhausen brewery, was owned by the Electress widow Maria Leopoldine of Bavaria . As her heir, the property came to Maximilian Graf Arco-Zinneberg in 1849 . The dairy, which was already sold to Michael Fink in 1800, was bought back by his heirs in 1876. Josef Graf Arco-Zinneberg followed in 1887. Rif had to sell this to the Bavarian branch of Deutsche Bank in 1898. Other owners were Karl Colin and Erich Breustadt (1899), the Kaltenhausen brewery (1901), Hugo Graf Boos-Waldeck (1912), Philipp Graf Boos-Waldeck (1946) and Carlotta Countess Plettenberg (1970). The parcel with the castle was sold to Walter and Elise Pleitner in 1942. In 1972 the property came to Philipp and Renate Pleintner by inheritance. In 1974 Elisabeth Hager bought the residence from them. The castle was purchased in 2003 by the University and the State of Salzburg for university use and adapted.

description

A high, brick archway with a polished garment marks the entrance to the former domain (the castle park). Next to the gate is a farmer's gatekeeper's house, from which a part of the former wall surrounding the castle area leads away. A 1.6 km long avenue leads from the entrance gate to the castle.

The originally four-winged, now three-winged castle building has three floors. The two corners of the building in the north-west wing are designed as corner towers with tent roofs. There is a sundial on the western tower. The main entrance is a wide stone portal with a segmented arch. The mostly original window frames consist of Untersberg conglomerate; some still have the old window baskets. On the main facade facing northwest are several coats of arms of Salzburg archbishops ( Markus Sittikus von Hohenems , Guidobald von Thun , Franz Anton von Harrach ), some of which are spoils of the Hofbrauhaus Kaltenhausen. The horse stable used to be in the west wing. The two-aisled, vaulted room is now used as an event hall. A retaining wall made of conglomerate stones with a strong bulge is still left of the worn out south wing. Of the water features that once existed, a rectangular pond has been preserved south of the castle, which is lined with stone blocks. Below is a barrel vault in the base wall with access only from the garden.

Since October 2004, the sports science campus (including the Christian Doppler Laboratory “Biomechanics in Skiing”) of the University of Salzburg has been located in and around the palace. Today the castle is part of the University and State Sports Center Salzburg Rif .