Strasbourg Castle (Carinthia)

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Strasbourg Castle is the former seat of the bishops of Gurk and gives its name to the city ​​of the same name in the Carinthian Gurktal .

The castle is strategically located on a mountain above the city of Strasbourg. It got its name because it ruled the road to Gurk . Strasbourg was first mentioned in 1147 as Strazburch . It was built by Gurk Bishop Roman I , who built the castle as well as the Gurk Cathedral to demonstrate his independence from the Archbishop of Salzburg . The first castle was already about the current size of around 70 m in length. Strasbourg, which was used as a castle ( castrum , veste ) until the first half of the 16th century , then as a castlewas the seat of the bishops of Gurk until 1783. After that it was left to decay, it was repaired again from the 1950s and is now largely rebuilt.

history

Strasbourg Castle from the west (May 2004). In the middle of the digestion tower.

The first castle was completed under Bishop Roman I (1131–1167). The two defense towers date from this time and prove that the first castle was the same size as it is today. The castle corresponded to the type of castle that was common in today's Austria with a brick bering , a simple wall gate, a single-storey chapel (here dedicated to Saint Mauritius) and a permanent house (the residential building). In the course of the conflict with the Archbishop of Salzburg, the castle was besieged in 1179 and largely destroyed in 1180. The Bering is still largely preserved (e.g. in the outer walls of today's west and north wing up to a height of 9 m).

The castle chapel was built in the late 12th century and consists of a nave, choir square and semicircular apse. In the 14th century the chapel was raised by one storey, and in the 15th century another storey was added above the choir square. The last elevation of the choir took place in 1682.

The original festivals house or palace was a zweigeschoßiger construction at the valley side south side, west of the chapel. Parts from the 13th century are still preserved today. The hall was extended to the west in the Middle Ages and raised at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1611 the two-flight staircase with a round arched chlorite slate portal was completed.

The digestion tower ( keep , 8.40 × 7.95 m) was built at the same time as the chapel and flanks the castle gate. It was a fortification and the residence of ministers of the Gurk bishops. The original four-storey building was increased by one storey in the late Middle Ages. Only the post holes of the originally existing wooden battlement have been preserved.

In the 14th century the eastern tower was built on the outside of the northern curtain wall. On the ground floor and first floor there is a smoke room - still preserved today. The western tower or mint tower was built in the 15th century. Before 1450, a two-storey arbor was built in front of the palace on the courtyard side. Around the middle of the 15th century, the outer wall was reinforced.

After 1450 the two-storey west wing was built on the courtyard side of the Bering, the north-facing wall was raised, the fortress was rebuilt and raised to its present level, and the chapel, as mentioned, added. This construction phase can be recognized by Gothic window, door and vault shapes. These construction measures will be Prince-Bishop Ulrich III. Attributed to Sonnenberger (1453–1469). The two-storey north wing was built around 1500.

In 1583/84 the stable and box building was built in the northwest according to plans by Johann Anton Verda , who was also involved in the construction of the Klagenfurt country house . The three-storey, rectangular building housed the horse stable on the ground floor, above the bulk floor (three-aisled halls with cross vaults ) and the hall. In 1611 the south wing was expanded (see above) and in 1634 a stair tower was built south of the chapel.

After that, the castle partially fell into disrepair. On the one hand, fires (1638, 1650) were to blame, on the other hand, a lack of interest on the part of the bishops (such as Sigismund Franz Archduke of Austria), who as imperial envoy never stayed in Strasbourg.

Under Prince-Bishop Cardinal Johann VIII. Freiherr von Goess , Strasbourg was expanded into a baroque residence. Between 1680 and 1690, the two-storey arcade corridors in front of the courtyard wing were built by the stonemason Johannes Payr . Originally one arch of the round arched pillar arcades on the ground floor corresponded to two arches of the Tuscan pillar arcades on the upper floor (during the reconstruction in 1962 this clear structure was not restored). The courtyard walls were decorated with horizontal plaster strips and sgraffito decor. The palace courtyard is stylistically indebted to the Renaissance . In 1685 the baroque portal leading into the Zwinger was built, a year later the main gate (at the place of the Romanesque main gate). The chapel was decorated with a strong plastic stucco decoration and wall paintings by Adam Claus .

The castle was badly damaged in an earthquake on November 21, 1767. After the bishops' residence was moved to Pöckstein Castle in 1783 , the castle fell into disrepair. In 1858 and 1904 there was a fire caused by lightning. In 1954, a notice of demolition was even issued for security reasons. As a result of the resulting efforts, rescue and later reconstruction work began in 1956. Today the castle has been largely restored.

Todays use

Today the castle is open to the public. In the castle are:

  • Strasbourg cultural center
  • Folklore collections
  • Hunting museum
  • restaurant

literature

  • August Jaksch von Wartenhorst : Strasbourg Castle in Carinthia. Publishing house of the local committee for the preservation of the Strasbourg Castle, Strasbourg 1924 (not viewed).
  • Albrecht Wendel: The Strasbourg. A building analysis consideration. In: Hemma von Gurk. Universitäts-Verlag Carinthia, Klagenfurt 1988, ISBN 3-85378-315-5 , 315–323 (exhibition catalog, Strasbourg Castle Carinthia, May 14 - October 26, 1988).
  • Siegfried Hartwagner: Strasbourg. In: Siegfried Hartwagner: Carinthia. The St. Veit an der Glan district. His works of art, historical forms of life and settlement (= Austrian art monograph. Vol. 8, ZDB -ID 1113380-6 ). Full special edition. Buchmarkt, Graz et al. 1994, pp. 232-239.

Web links

Commons : Strasbourg Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 53 ′ 50.9 ″  N , 14 ° 19 ′ 48.9 ″  E