Scharnstein Castle

Scharnstein Castle

Scharnstein Castle is a castle in the municipality of Scharnstein in Upper Austria .

history

In 1538 the construction of a new nursing home on a hill above the left bank of the Alm began after a major fire broke out in Scharnstein Castle . The building and the square were called "Schafferleithen", so the embankment ("Leiten"), where the stately "Schaffer" (carer) had his seat.

In 1584 the imperial court chamber president Helmhard von Jörger bought the Scharnstein estate. This was his free property , that is, he was no longer the fief owner , but the owner. He began with the construction of a new castle on the Schafferleiten, which was later called "Neuscharnstein". In addition to the mansion came Maier courtyards , taverns and a brewery.

Under Helmhard's son Georg Wilhelm, the construction of the richly furnished Renaissance building was completed around 1606 . Georg Wilhelm's wife came from the house of Count Polheim von Parz and so the alliance coat of arms of Jörger and Polheim von Parz was attached to the painted wooden ceilings .

Georg Wilhelm's heir, his younger brother Karl von Jörger, fought as a Protestant and commander of the Marchland troops against the imperial army. He was defeated and died after his arrest in prison in Passau. The emperor sold the requisitioned Scharnstein rule in 1625 to the Kremsmünster monastery .

After the dissolution of the basic rule in 1848 was installed forestry offices and staff apartments in the former state rooms. In 1897, Kremsmünster Abbey was forced to deliver 34 iron window grilles , three painted wooden plafonds and numerous oil paintings to Schloss Ort . In 1903 the castle chapel was divided into an apartment. Finally the castle was rededicated into a rental house with 30 apartments with more than 70 residents. During the Second World War , numerous refugee families were quartered in the castle.

In the 19th and 20th In the 19th century, the building fell into disrepair, especially during the two world wars. When Harald Seyrl, an Austrian historian, finally acquired the castle from Kremsmünster Abbey in 1967, it was in a desolate state and in some cases was even in danger of collapsing. After the war, partition walls were inserted into the still intact rooms and substandard apartments were built, which had caused considerable damage to the historical building fabric. Seyrl had the rooms restored to their original condition with the help of the Federal Monuments Office and the State of Upper Austria.

Since the renovation in the 1980s, the castle has been home to museums, a place for various cultural activities and the Seyrls family home. The House of Poisons was also located here from 2002 onwards , a privately run facility which, in addition to poisonous plants, also presented a reptile zoo with over 40 terrariums and aquariums (Reptile Zoo Scharnstein Castle) . The exhibition and zoo were closed in 2012.

Todays use

• Austrian Crime Museum with Austrian Gendarmerie Museum
• Museum for Austrian Contemporary History
• Guided tours through the private rooms of the lords of the castle (Sunday morning)

literature

• Franz Sartori: The castle forts and knight castles of the Austrian monarchy . 2nd Edition. 7th part. Me. Lechner, Vienna 1839, The old and new Scharnstein Castle in Austria above the Enns , p. 47–48 ( Google eBook, full view ).

Web links

• Scharnstein Castle website (at www.kriminalmuseum.at)
• Entry via Neu-Scharnstein to Burgen-Austria

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Scharnstein Reptile Zoo. ORF.at Freizeit (undated article archive, accessed on June 2, 2016).
2. ↑ Österreichisches Kriminalmuseum (at www.kriminalmuseum.at) ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Museum für Österreichische Zeitgeschichte (at www.kriminalmuseum.at) ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Coordinates: 47 ° 54 ′ 21 ″  N , 13 ° 57 ′ 49 ″  E