Vornbach Castle

View from the inside of the castle

Vornbach Castle today

Vornbach Castle: entrance portal

Vornbach Castle: memorial column for Emil Baron von Schätzler

Vornbach Castle: gargoyles on the inside

The Vornbach Castle is located on the Inn in the same district of the town of Neuhaus am Inn in the Lower Bavarian district of Passau .

History of the castle

It is believed that Vornbach Castle was built on the remains of a Roman fortification that was created to protect the connecting route between Juvavum (Salzburg) and Castra Batavia ( Passau ). A Tiemo I, Gaugraf im Rottachgau, was named as the first count of Vornbach in 985. In 1040 he handed over the possessions of Vornbach, Schärding and Suben to his son Heinrich (also called Hesso). Tiemo's niece Himiltrude founded the pilgrimage church "Maria am Sand" in Vornbach and a collegiate foundation . 1094 was founded as a monastery by Count Ekbert I. von Formbach and his wife Mathilde vom Lambach and Count Ulrich von Windberg Vornbach. Count Eckbert II of Neuburg and Vormbach got into a dispute with his cousin Dietrich von Viechtenstein over the castle in Vornbach; In the end Dietrich signed the deed of foundation of the renewed monastery as Count von Vormbach (1120). Subject to the retention of the title of Count von Vormbach, Dietrich handed the castle over to the monastery in 1127, after which both properties were combined. From then on, the history of Vornbach Castle ends, or until March 26, 1803, it is the same as that of Vornbach Monastery .

An inscription on the arch of the castle portal reads BAIF with the year 1638 and indicates that the monastery was being converted by Benedict I, Abbot in Frombach. The building of the monastery and later castle essentially dates from the period between 1642 and 1685 and was built under Abbot Benedikt Heppauer.

After secularization , the monastery and now again the castle and the property came into the possession of Mr. Franz X. von Bachmaier, and later to his son-in-law Eduard Baron Adrian-Werburg. From this the property passed to Count von Joner von Tettenweis, who sold it to Emil Baron von Schätzler with effect from September 30, 1857. He had the rooms of the castle renovated in the Renaissance courtyard style and re-equipped the salons with armaments and pictures. In 1859, under Baron von Schätzler, Carl von Effner also laid out the lovely park of Vornbach Castle with a rock grotto and pond. A pillar at the entrance to the park reminds of Emil von Schätzler.

present

In 1939 Carl Ludwig Duisberg acquired the castle property from Baron Paul von Schätzler, who died on December 27, 1938. The latter had acquired a dubious reputation for helping Austrian National Socialists escape . During the Second World War, the monastery served as a military hospital from 1944. In 1949 Hans Hahn became the new owner of the castle, followed by Gustav Adolf Hahn (until 2011). To this day the castle belongs to the Hahn-Schindlmaißer family. The east wing is owned by the painter Arnulf Rainer . There are also a number of other tenants in the castle. The castle also serves as a venue for events and exhibitions.

The Vornbacher Schlossparkfest was organized as a family festival for the third time in July 2011 by the Vornbacher Volunteer Fire Brigade , while the otherwise not publicly accessible castle park is open to visitors. The “Reading in the Castle” of the district's cultural department at Christmas time has also become a well-known cultural event.

A number of artists have or had their studios in the castle. Leopold Hafner maintained his studio in the old brewing room of Vornbach Castle from 1959 to 1967. Fritz Klier moved into the castle in 2006 and set up a studio with an etching workshop in the Hofrichterhaus; in 1999 he had already organized the exhibition "Moment, Herr Goethe!" in the palace as part of the European weeks. The Austrian artist Arnulf Rainer also lived and worked at Vornbach Castle. The locally known sculptor Hilde Seyboth was born in Vornbach and exhibited at Vornbach Castle in 1996 as part of the European Weeks in Passau. Tonie Meilhamer also carried out the exhibition "ROMANTIK" at Schloss Vornbach at the European Weeks in Passau in 1997, and the late Ika Büger held a summer academy in 1986 at the castle. In 2000 Madeleine Heublein had her exhibition “Mnemosyne” here. Further exhibitions were designed by the artists Hetty Krist 1969, Antje Wichtrey (* 1966) 1997 and Annette Lucks 2000.

The palace and park are not open to the public. However, it is possible to arrange guided tours.

literature

• Joseph Pflugbeil: Castle and Hofmark Vornbach. 1877 (2nd edition), Passau: J. Edel Druckerei.
• Anna Gugerbauer: The developments in the relations of Passau to the Austrian neighbors (1918-1938). In Winfried Becker (ed.), Passau in the time of National Socialism. Selected case studies (pp. 71–106). 1999, Passau: Universitätsverlag, ISBN 3-86036-031-0 .

Web links

Commons : Schloss Vornbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Anna Gugerbauer, 1999, p. 74.
2. ^ Homepage of Fritz Klier

Coordinates: 48 ° 29 ′ 10 ″  N , 13 ° 26 ′ 32 ″  E