Burggruine Mitterberg – Wikipedia

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Burgruine Mitterberg

The prospectus and pile of rubble of the Mitterberg Castle, which had fallen long ago, former residence of the ancient Counts Machland. Clemens Beuttler, draftsman, year 1664.

Stands Austria
Location Mitterberg, Stadt Perg
Time of origin 1165 ist Wernhard of Mitterperg Erwahnt
Burgstype High medieval height castle
Conservation state Burgruine (rubbish)
Geographical location 48 ° 15 ′ N , 14 ° 40 ′ O 48.252292 14,659127 330 Coordinates: 48 ° 15 ′ 8.3 ″ N , 14 ° 39 ′ 32.9 ″ O
Altitude 330 m

Ruins of the main castle. Stitch from Clemens Beutler

The Burgruine Mitterberg is hidden in the forest area in Upper Austria east of the city of Perg. Mitterberg was formerly the largest castle complex in the Mühlviertel. Burg Mitterberg was the seat of the Machland district court from 1278 and until 1533 and thus the administrative focus for the Machland territory.

The Mitterberg castle complex (the Middle Berg, the M. Burg [first] ) is pretty much in the middle between the Perg Castle and the Pergirchen Burgkirchenanlage of the Lords of Perg and Machland. The castle stable can be found hidden under mixed forest on a rock crest about 200 m southwest of the Mitterberg settlement. The Thurnhofbach (formerly called Lembach or Mitterbergbach) flows over below the rock. It reaches the level and town of Thurnhof in the south after about 800 m. Mitterberg is private site. No monument protection.

The castle complex developed into the largest castle complex of the Mühlviertel in Upper Austria in the Middle Ages. Like the many other castles in the Mühlviertel, the facility should serve to secure the Machland against Bohemian, Hungarian and Turkish ideas.

The spacious castle stable extends over a length of ~ 230 m from north to south. Its width fluctuated from ~ 100 m at the Meier and atrium in the north to ~ 50 m near the main castle in the south. A Prospect by C. Beutler 1664 shows us the entire castle stable. Almost all earthworks and unfortunately only a few of the walls built with stone blocks are still preserved and accessible. Here is the description from north to south:

I. First ditch in the North. The ditch with a small channel led from the Thurnhofbach to the entrance gate and presumably.

II. Entrance gate ( Make 48.254118 14,65914 ). There is no trace of the gate building. Maybe it was a wooden structure. Now the younger access road in the early open road is also beginning. It leads slightly west around the castle grounds to the section ditch of the main castle. As is well known, in 1564 Andreas von Prag share parts of the Mitterberg Castle to use the stone blocks won for his Pragtal Palace. Other people did it.

III. Meier and atrium . Was pretty wide at ~ 100 m. The plateau had its own small defense rondel with medium diameter ~ 9 m. The younger access road crosses the site.

IV. Section ditch . Led uphill from the Thurnhofbach. Where the younger access road crosses the ditch, there was formerly a trench bridge (to see in Prospect by C. Beutler). The ditch then continues as a deep ditch protecting the castle complex in the northeast. In the northeast it is accompanied by an outer wall. This trench system is still impressive.

V. First outer castle ( Make 48,253009 14,658938 ). On the plateau, base walls in the northern area can still be recognized by a round tower, various square buildings and round fountains (?) As a soil. The middle of the outer bailiff marks a shallow ditch. Behind it and in the southern area of ​​the outer castle is a semicircular to horseshoe -shaped wall, lined with a stone wall inside. Inside ~ 25 m. This wall, strangely, has an interruption in the middle, possibly the castle access. In the center of the wall, a horseshoe -shaped weir wall follows in the south area somewhat increased. Interior width ~ 7 m, external dimensions ~ 10 m. The other supplementary Vorburg conversion wall was received as a steep drop.

VI. Section ditch . This persistent also impressively. There were no traces of a trench bridge to be assumed.

VII ( Make 48.252602 14,659157 ). On the plateau, base walls of various angular buildings and round cisterns (?) Can also be seen as soils in the north area. In the southern area, this outer castle dominated the mighty Halsgraben single tower. The base masonry obtained has an inner diameter ~ 4 m and outside diameter ~ 12 m. Here there were 7 crashed cannons on the ground (to see im Prospect by C. Beutler). Strangely enough, the base masonry is not closed. In the northeast it has an interruption in the manner of a gait inside the tower. The other supplementary Vorburg conversion wall was received as a steep drop.

VIII. Section ditch . This persistent also impressively. From the Grabenbrücke (to see in the main castle view of C. Beutler), there were no traces.

IX. Main castle In the south ( Make 48.25227 14,659137 ). The castle plateau with external dimensions ~ 50 × 50 m was ~ 38 m above the Thurnhofbach. There was the main building (residential tower, palas) with external dimensions ~ 15 × 20 m. In the area of ​​the main building, an impressive arched basement was obtained. In addition, a vaulted departure to the castle chapel and the remains of the wall with a door opening are recognizable. The surrounding wall can now only be recognized as a steep drop. South there are foundation walls of three shell towers (two corner towers, a half tower) made of cuboid stones. During excavations on the area of ​​the main castle, ceramic fragments and iron parts were released, which are now located in the Heimathaus-Stadtmuseum Perg (Leopold Mayböck Collection). The discovery of iron parts proves the violent Destruction of the castle.

X. Meierhof ( Make 48.253811 14.666767 ). The neighboring homestead of Braitenaichinger (modern address Perg, Lehenbrunn 14) is the actual Meierhof.

The birds and gentlemen of Perg and Machland were probably those who had the first fortifications built on the rock plateau of the later main castle. Towards the end of the 11th century, the gender of Perg and Machland was one of the most influential genders in Mark Ostarrichi (Austria). Rudolf III comes as a well -known castle founder. by Perg (1085–1135). The Burgen name Mitterberg has been occupied since 1165. A Wernhardus de Mitterperg appears as a witness. [2]

There were at least 1180 exciting. In 1180 the castle was probably one of the goods that the Babenberger Herzog Leopold V. The reason was that Burg holder Friedrich II of Perg (1150–1191) had killed the ducal judge Sintram von Klosterneuburg in a dispute. [3] Later, Friedrich II from Perg received the castle back as a fief.

At the latest in 1191, after the death of Frederick II of Perg on July 15, 1191 [3] In the East at the crusade Emperor Friedrich Barbarossas, and after his widow Agnes von Wald with son Friedrich III. From Perg (1180–1218) to Wald on the Alz, followed as the owner of the castle of the Lower Machländer nobility, who called Mitterberger. For example, a Gumpoldus and Marquardus de Mitterberc are mentioned in documents: 1208 [4] [5] , 1227 a Dietricus and Chunradus de Mitterberch, 1240 a Chunradus and Otto de Mittirberch. The last Mitterberger was Ulrich III. by Mitterberg († 1360).

The respected nobility of the Kapeller and the Liechtensteiner then followed as the owner of the castle.

In 1277 Duke Albrecht I of Austria Ulrich II of Kapellen (1250–1301) rejected Mitterberg. This Ulrich II was also captain from the Land of Enns (Upper Austria) and in 1281, the district judge of the Machland district court, based in Mitterberg Castle. As a result, instead of Machland district court, the name Capeller district court came into circulation.

The chapels expanded the castle and also lived in. Janns I. (Hans) of Kapellen (1297–1354) built the castle chapel in the area of ​​the main castle in honor of St. Maria (Marienkapelle). For this castle chapel, the abbot of Melk Abbot, as the responsible spiritual fiefdom, even approved a chaplain. The last of the chapels on Mitterberg was Eberhard II of Kapellen († 1406). His daughter Dorothea of ​​Kapellen († 1426) married Hartneid V von Liechtenstein († 1427). Burg Mitterberg initially came to the Liechtensteiner.

There were particularly exciting ones in 1486. Castle owner Christoph III. From Liechtenstein († 1506) had as supporters of a noble alliance against Emperor Friedrich III. (1415-1493) the castle enormously upgraded. With the main castle (shell towers) and two large reinforced lead in the north, the castle became the strongest fortress in the country. In 1486, strong imperial troops under the leadership of Governor Gotthard von Starhemberg († 1493) attacked the castle. There were great destruction. It remained a secret whether the fortress was really conquered to the last.

In any case, from 1491, the battered castle received new fidelity. These were: 1491 Ladislaus Prager († 1514). 1493 Sigmund Prüschenk († 1500/1502) and Heinrich Prüschenk (the Prüschenk then operated as Counts of Hardegg and in Machlande from 1495). 1524 Freifrau Anna Prager (widow of Ladislaus Prager. † 1534). All of these no longer attached any value on fortress buildings. The exercise of the land rule and the Machland district court remained important to them.

As a result, the Prüschenk in Grein on the Danube built their own Greinburg, originally called Stettenfels or Heinrichsburg from 1491 to 1493. Only more careers (castle administrator) remained in Mitterberg. Traditional nurses were u. 1383–1388 Peter Widmer, 1396–1409 Stefan Piber, 1416–1424 Wilhelm Frodnacher, 1486 Christof Graaber, 1492–1494 Hanns Panhalm. Panhalm was the last nurse in Mitterberg. In 1533 the Prüschenk moved the Machland district court from Mitterberg to their castle in Grein. The Machland district court mutated into the Greinburg district court and other smaller dishes.

In 1564, Freiherr Andreas von Prag (1514–1569) had cuboid stones and building materials broken off in Mitterberg to use everything for his new PRAGAL Castle. The castle stable remained. Buildings in the outer base area probably still survived as dwellings for some time.

The large -scale district court of Machland has existed in the Machlandviertel since about 1227, today’s lower Mühlviertel in Upper Austria. Court seats and thus the administrative focus were Burg Arbing, Castle Klam and then centuries of Mitterberg Castle.

  • Norbert Grabherr: Castles and locks in Upper Austria. Upper Austrian Landesverlag, Linz 1970, p. 264 (Mitterberg).
  • Georg Grüll: Castles and locks in the Mühlviertel. Birken-Verlag, Vienna 1968, p. 63 (Mitterberg).
  • Gerhart Marckhgott: The low nobility of the Machland in the late Middle Ages. Grin Verlag, Munich 1978, p. 11 (Mitterberg).
  • Heimatverein and municipality of Perg (ed.): Home book of the city of Perg 2009 . Denkmayr Druck, Linz 2009, ISBN 978-3-902598-90-5, p. 167 (Die Burgland Mitterberg).
  • Commission on the Care of the Patriotic History of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (ed.): Archive for customers of Austrian history sources. Volume 15, Vienna 1856, and Volume 18/I, Vienna 1857.
  • Municipality of Perg (ed.): Perg city survey. Commemorative publication on the occasion of the city survey. Trauner-Print, Linz 1969, p. 79 (the Ruin Mitterberg).
  • Florian Eibensteiner, Konrad Eibensteiner: Perg. Ob.-ö. Illustrated home book. The home book of Perg, Upper Austria. In self -published, Linz 1933, pp. 150–151 (“The Sage of Mitterberg”; LandesbiThek.at ).
  • Leopold Josef Mayböck: Ceramic find from Ruine Mitterberg. In: Contributions to medieval archeology. Heft 11, 1995, S. 93 ( PDF on univie.ac.at).
  • Franz Xaver Pritz: History of the country OB of Enns. Volume 2, Quirin Haslinger, Linz 1847, pp. 43, 49, 643, 660, 697 and 699 ( LandesbiThek.at ).
  • Wendelin Richter, Florian Eibensteiner, Julius Aichberger: Historical data and legends about churches, monasteries and castles in the district of Perg. Verlag J. M. Hiebl, Grein 1908, p. 52 (legend by Adelhaid von Capell; LandesbiThek.at ).
  • Otto Guem: The regional courts in the lower Mühlviertel. In: Mühlviertler Heimatblätter. Year 6, Issue 3/4, Linz 1966, pp. 60–62 ( ooegeschichte.at [PDF]).
  • Christian K. Steingruber: Critical comments on the historical-topographical manual of the military facilities and men’s seats Upper Austria by Norbert Grabherr . St. Gotthard 2022, I/15/4 Mitterberg ( ooegeschichte.at [accessed on April 9, 2022]).
  1. ↑ Ernst Schwarz: The place names of the eastern Upper Austria . Sudetenutscher Verlag Franz Kraus, 1926., Reichenberg i.B. 1926, S. 44 ( LandesbiThek.at ).
  2. ↑ Erich Trinks (editor): Document book of the country OB of Enns . Band first . Wien 1852, 133, S. 666 ( Archive.org – Possibly the witness “Werhardus de Mitterperge” also comes from one of the other places called Mitterberg in Upper Austria?): “1165. ”
  3. ↑ a b Viktor from Handel-Mazzetti: The bird of Perg. In: Yearbook of the Upper Austrian Museum Association. Band 70, Linz 1912, S. 126–127 ( zobodat.at [PDF]).
  4. ↑ Karl Hohensinner, Peter Wiesinger, with the collaboration of Hermann Scheuringer, Michael Schefbäck: The place names of the political districts Perg and Freistadt (eastern Mühlviertel) (= Local name book of the state of Upper Austria. Volume 11). Publisher of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2003, ISBN 978-3-7001-3103-8, p. 58, No. 11.2.4.15 (Mitterberg).
  5. ↑ Erich Trinks (editor): Document book of the country OB of Enns . Band 2 . Vienna 1856, CCClix, S. 514 ( Archive.org – “Gumpoldus, Marquardus de Mitterberc” as a witness): “1208. October 29. Mauthausen. – Abbt Rudiger and the Convent of the Baumgartenberg monastery submit to the saying of an arbitral tribunal regarding a discord with the St. Florian monastery because of some goods to hard. ”