Castle Vaduz
| Castle Vaduz | ||
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.jpg) Castle Vaduz |
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| Alternative name (s): | Hohenliechtenstein | |
| Creation time : | 12th Century | |
| Conservation status: | receive | |
| Place: | Vaduz | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 8 '22 " N , 9 ° 31' 28" E | |
| Height: | 570 m above sea level M. | |
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The Vaduz Castle , formerly chief Liechtenstein called, is situated on a rock terrace above Vaduz , the capital of the Principality of Liechtenstein . Today it is the landmark of the place and the seat of the Princely House of Liechtenstein .
location
Vaduz Castle is located on a rock terrace around 120 meters above the municipality of Vaduz. To the west, the castle is separated from the Rhine Valley by almost vertical mountain slopes , while a smaller plain extends to the north, east and south.
history
History of origin
The time when the castle was built has not been proven. Today it is assumed that the first parts of the building were built in the 12th century. The keep was probably built as one of the first buildings and later supplemented by a residential tower, which, thanks to dendrochronological studies, can be dated to 1287. In the following decades the facility was gradually expanded and expanded.
Late Middle Ages
The castle was mentioned for the first time in 1322: The complex, including the building and tree garden near the castle and including people in Vaduz and Triesen, was pledged to Vogt Ulrich von Matsch for 400 silver marks. In 1338 Ulrich von Montfort received the castle as a personal property. When the Sarganser Grafschaft was divided, Count Hartmann III received on May 3, 1342. from Werdenberg the castle and the area. As Count Hartmann I, he took up residence at his castle and named his line after the manor's seat.
From 1416 to 1507 the castle and area of Vaduz were owned by the Barons von Brandis . During the Swabian War, the Confederates burned the castle down on February 12, 1499. Lord Ludwig von Brandis took care of the restoration of the castle after the peace treaty and its release.
Modern times
From 1507 to 1613 the Counts of Sulz were the owners. They had the castle expanded and improved in terms of fortress technology. So were u. a. a chapel and two roundels with a wall thickness of around five meters were built, which served both as a gun bastion and as living quarters. Today they contain the depot for the princely art collection .
They were followed as owners by the Counts of Hohenems , who completed the castle by 1712.
The castle has been owned by the Princes of Liechtenstein since 1712. In the period from 1712 to 1732, it was now known as Hohenliechtenstein and served as the seat of the bailiff with official apartments in the west wing. In the decades and centuries that followed, the castle increasingly fell into disrepair, so that the first restoration plans were drawn up at the beginning of the 20th century.
From 1905 to 1912, Prince Johann II finally undertook a thorough restoration under the direction of state curator Franz von Wieser from Innsbruck. Alois Gstrein from Brixen worked as a master builder. Prince Franz Josef II had it converted into a comfortable place and in 1939 he and his family took up permanent residence in the castle.
The castle is privately owned by the princely family and can therefore not be visited by the public. The ruling sovereign welcomes state guests and other visitors for private talks in the palace.
Castle chapel
The castle chapel on the ground floor of the south wing dates back to the High Middle Ages and probably existed when it was first mentioned in a document. However, it does not appear in any of its own documents. In its present form it goes back to the Barons von Brandis and is consecrated to St. Anna . In 1511 a still existing St. Anne brotherhood was founded in Liechtenstein.
The church of St. Florian used to be the court chapel, which is why the castle chapel did not have its own chaplain . The late Gothic winged altar of the chapel shows a group of vespers. The wings inside have motifs with Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara . The outside shows the martyrdom of the 10,000 knights. The martyrdom of the 11,000 virgins near Cologne is depicted on the predella . In the tabernacle of the canopy there are three statuettes: Anna selbdritt , Sankt Sebastian and Martin von Tours .
The chapel is now the private chapel of the princely family and is used regularly for church services.
National holiday
On the state holiday of the principality, August 15, the state ceremony takes place on the Schlosswiese: first the high mass - usually celebrated by regional bishop Wolfgang Haas - then speeches by the sovereign and the president of the state parliament. After the state ceremony, the princely family usually invites the population to an aperitif in the palace gardens. At the fireworks at the end of the national holiday you can see the burning letters for God, Prince and Fatherland and a fire on the city wall front .
literature
- Elisabeth Castellani Zahir: The restoration of Vaduz Castle 1904 to 1914: Castle monument preservation between historicism and modernity . 2 volumes. Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 978-3-80621-086-6 .
- Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Oberland. In: Society for Swiss Art History GSK: The art monuments of Switzerland. Bern 2007, ISBN 978-3-906131-85-6 .
Web links
- Vaduz Castle on the Liechtenstein Tourism website
- Official website of the Princely House of Liechtenstein
- Elisabeth Crettaz-Stürzel: Vaduz (Castle). In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein .
- Vaduz Castle (with photos, floor plan, history and references) at burgenwelt.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. 2007, pp. 252-254.
- ↑ Cornelia Herrmann: The art monuments of the Principality of Liechtenstein. 2007, pp. 256-258.
- ^ Press and Information Office (ed.): National holiday August 15, 2009, information from the organizing committee on the festival program . Vaduz 2009.