Waxenberg Castle

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Old Waxenberg Castle

The Waxenberg Castle is located in the center of Waxenberg in the municipality Oberneukirchen in Upper Austria's Mühlviertel . The castle was built in the 17th century below Waxenberg Castle and served as the seat of the Waxenberg rule between 1756 and 1848 . In 1910 the castle was expanded and is now used for events. It is owned by the Starhemberg family .

history

The castle below the castle, engraving by GM Vischer around 1674

The castle was probably built in the 17th century by the Lords of Gera. They also owned Waxenberg Castle , and they built the castle around 200 meters away, below the castle. When the castle was destroyed after a lightning strike in 1756, the Starhemberg family, who had belonged to Waxenberg since 1640, moved into the castle and expanded it. The castle chapel has served as the village's parish church since 1784. She is the last private patronage of the Starhemberg family. Between 1908 and 1910 the castle was further expanded, the new castle was built north of the old one.

In the interwar period (1918–1938) Prince Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg used the castle as a base for the Heimwehr , of which he was the head.

On May 22, 1936, there was a National Socialist attack on Waxenberg Castle with one dead and two seriously injured. The attack was planned and carried out by local National Socialists. 90 people were involved in the attack. The presence of the state police prevented worse consequences; this had been forewarned. It is unclear whether the attackers were only looking for weapons or had planned to kidnap Prince Starhemberg. This incident proves that there was an unbridgeable gap between Heimwehr and the Social Democrats.

In 1938 the palace was expropriated by the National Socialists and made available to the People's Welfare Service. After the Second World War it was returned to the Starhembergers. Between 1948 and 1968 the building was used by the Association of War Blind, after which it was renovated several times and is now used for events.

description

The castle consists of the old and the new castle. The older castle is a two-story, horseshoe-shaped building that is open to the south. It was built in the 17th century. In the inner courtyard there is an octagonal fountain that dates from the 17th century. The south side of the west wing is decorated with coats of arms of the Starhemberg family, Jörger , Gera and Turzo von Bethlen-Falva. The palace chapel, richly decorated inside, is dedicated to St. Joseph and is located on the southeast corner of the palace. Most of the furnishings come from the late 19th century, the high altar by Ferdinand Stuflesser from 1892. The family coat of arms of the Starhemberger and Jörger is attached to the outer wall. The Waxenberg Water Cooperative is currently located in the castle.

The new castle is also a horseshoe-shaped building that is open to the east. The two to three storey building is north of the old castle and was built around 1910. The knight's hall on the top floor has a carved beam ceiling from the mid-16th century, which comes from Eschelberg Castle .

  • New Waxenberg Castle

  • Coat of arms of the Starhemberger and the Jörger

  • Fountain in the courtyard

  • Altar in the castle chapel

literature

  • Georg Grüll : Castles and palaces in Upper Austria, Volume 1: Mühlviertel . Birken-Verlag, Vienna 1962.
  • Oskar Hille: Castles and palaces of Upper Austria . Wilhelm Ennsthaler, 2nd edition, Steyr 1992, ISBN 3-85068-323-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Province of Upper Austria: 1936. In: land-oberoesterreich.gv.at. Retrieved February 12, 2020 .
  2. ↑ POWER OF NAZI AUSTRIA ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 48 ° 28 ′ 38 "  N , 14 ° 11 ′ 27"  E