Wimsbach Castle
Wimsbach Castle is a listed castle building in the municipality of Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting that dates back to the 13th century and is located on a steep slope to the Wimsbach and in its current form from the early 17th century .
History of the castle
Today's castle was - as excavations show - originally a castle with a ring moat, defensive towers and ditches. The property was first mentioned in documents in 1243 as the property of the brothers Ulrich and Alram de Witimspach. This family was followed by Lamprecht Aspan from the Aspan von Hag family in 1469. These had their headquarters at Lichtenhag Castle . In 1584 the still underage son of Jakob Aspan came under the rule of Helmhart Jörgers ; this sold the castle to Gundaker von Starhemberg . In 1626 the castle was captured by rebellious farmers and burned down. After the peasant uprising was put down, the castle was rebuilt as a palace. In 1651 Konrad Balthasar von Starhemberg also acquired the Neydharting rule, which he combined with the property in Wimsbach. In 1799, Count Georg Adam von Starhemberg sold the Wimsbach-Neydharting estate to Anton Hafferl. From the Hafferlschen heirs, ownership came to Count Karl Hallwyl in 1870, who a short time later sold everything to Baron Moritz von Schnapper. In 1892 Maria Freiin von Schnapper bequeathed the building to Mrs. Weisweiller. During the Second World War, the castle was state property and served as a rest home for those who work in the “Hermann Göring Works” (now VOEST). After the Second World War, the castle was returned to Moritz Weisweiller and his heirs.
present
The architectural peculiarities of the castle become apparent when you walk around from the outside. The castle forms an irregular heptagon, which is flanked by two round towers integrated into the masonry. A stepped gate protrudes from the line of the wall and leads into a square arcaded courtyard. Its arbors are open, but glazed on the first floor. The arches on the ground floor are supported by Gothic columns made of coarse conglomerate stone, and on the upper floor by Tuscan columns. Opposite the courtyard entrance is a niche with a stone water trough. The roof shape is a hipped roof with simple breaks. The three-storey towers with their broken conical roofs protrude over the ridge of the castle. The roof is still completely covered with wooden shingles today. During restoration work on the outer facade between 1985 and 1987, it turned out that the entrance to the castle was not originally at its current location, but exactly opposite on the south side of the castle. On the south side there is a balcony resting on the tapering columns below.
From the Catholic parish church of St. Stephan leads a chestnut avenue to the north, this also belongs to the possession of the castle. It is one of the longest avenues in the world. Allegedly it was created because the ladies of the castle wanted to walk in the shade of the trees to the nearby forest.
The castle is privately owned and tours are only possible by appointment. The castle park is open to the public.
Wimsbach Castle south side
Wimsbach Castle Schlossallee
Wimsbach Castle renovation work
literature
- Norbert Grabherr : Castles and palaces in Upper Austria. A guide for castle hikers and friends of home. 3rd revised edition, Oberösterreichischer Landesverlag, Linz 1976, ISBN 3-85214-157-5 .
- Otto Stöber: Eternal Neydharting. 3rd expanded edition, Stadt-Verlag, Vienna 1956.
Web links
- Entry via Schloss Wimsbach to Burgen-Austria
- Kulturbegleiter Bad Wimsbach-Neidharting (PDF file; 401 kB) ( page no longer available )
Coordinates: 48 ° 3 '44.5 " N , 13 ° 53' 59.4" E