!!!Burgen und Schlösser

Castles and Palaces: Early forms of fortifications built on Austrian 
territory date back to the Neolithic Period (fortification of 
Schanzboden near Falkenstein, Lower Austria, 4500 B.C.). The fortified 
sites of the Celts were known as "oppida", or hill forts (Leopoldsberg 
near Vienna; Braunsberg near Hainburg). The Slavs erected their 
fortifications in Carinthia (Karnburg), Styria (Graz) and in the 
northern part of Lower Austria (Thunau near Gars). Many castles were 
erected under the Carolingians (Ennsburg castle). Frequently, 
"motte-and-bailey" castles were built on artificially piled-up hills 
next to larger complexes. In the Babenberg period (from 976), 
settlements usually developed around fortified castles. One example is 
the reconstructed Kirchenberg (mound) of Wieselburg (Lower Austria) 
dating from the 10%%sup th/%  century. Over the years, castles became 
the natural centres of marches (Hengistburg castle in Styria). In the 
11%%sup th/% century, large and small castles were built on high 
ground, their names mostly ending on -burg, -stein, -berg, -fels or 
-egg. The ideal 11%%sup th/% -century castle would include a 
tower-like ´fortified residence´ and a chapel, both 
surrounded by an outer wall. Castles of this type are Schallaburg, 
Raabs and Gars. With the rise of feudalism from the 12%%sup th/%  
century onwards, castles served as the residence of the lord of the 
manor, whose responsibility it was to administer the lands around the 
castle and to provide protection for his tenants. Accordingly, castles 
were the central point of local administration and the economic base 
of the lord of the territory (feoffee). This system was maintained up 
to 1848. Usually located in borderland areas, medieval castles were 
enlarged and refined according to status and position of the lord of 
the manor. Villages in borderland areas were defended by walled or 
moated citadels. In order to control mountain passes and prevent 
attackers from invading a valley, castles were often built in such 
places. In the 11%%sup th/%  century mighty fortresses were also built 
by the prince-archbishops of Salzburg (Hohensalzburg, Hohenwerfen, 
Friesach, Leibnitz). In low-lying areas, castles were either built on 
precipitous hills or surrounded by a ditch and wall (Orth, Ebenfurth, 
Pottendorf). These moated castles later on mostly consisted of three 
or four wings, an outer wall and corner towers.

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Medieval castles basically served as strongholds for the king or lord 
of the territory; sometimes they were integrated into fortified towns 
(Vienna, Wiener Neustadt). Frequently erected along the Styrian and 
Lower Austrian borders, castles of this type held out stoutly against 
attacks and are among the best preserved castles in Europe. From the 
13%%sup th/%  century onwards, citadels usually stood at one corner of 
a fortified town.

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Fresco painting in castle chapels became popular in the Romanesque 
period (Ottenstein am Kamp, Petersberg in Friesach).

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In fact, most castles were built in the 13%%sup th/%  century when 
feudalism and the ministeriales (administrative household officers) 
emerged. From that time onwards, a single large tower, the keep, or 
donjon, constituted the focal point of the castle and at the same time 
was a means to demonstrate power. In fact, medieval princes 
demonstrated their power through their castles. They tried to get 
control of as many castles as possible, which they then had 
administered by a burgrave; castles that defended themselves 
effectively, however, were destroyed and reduced to ruins. In the 
Gothic period, more comfortable housing was sought and castles were 
enlarged and refined for representative purposes (Friedrichstor in 
Linz); at the same time advance fortifications, wards and bastions 
provided for better defences.

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From 1500 onwards the former military strongholds were gradually 
converted into a residence of princes or noble families, which 
resulted in the decline of castles that had become obsolete. The 
advent of firearms, too, required a change in military architecture 
(siege of Kufstein, 1503). A free space around the castle, for 
example, provided for better defence. Furthermore, additional 
buildings were needed for economic reasons. Frequently, Italian 
architects were called in to refine medieval castles and provide them 
with representative gates, arcaded courtyards, improved heating 
facilities, libraries, festival and banquet halls. This is how the 
medieval castle became a palace. Italian influence was evident up to 
the late Baroque period. Between 1500 and 1620 palaces were built in 
the Renaissance style; between 1620 and 1680 early Baroque design 
prevailed; features of late Baroque predominated between 1680 and 
1740. The main purpose, however, was to construct more comfortable and 
refined complexes and at the same time provide improved defensive 
structures; this goal was achieved through additional buildings 
(Hochosterwitz, Riegersburg, Herberstein). In fact, most castles were 
adapted to the new requirements during the 16%%sup th/%  and 
17%%sup th/%  centuries and some of them were completely remodelled 
(Schallaburg Castle and Rosenburg Castle). For example, a 6-storey 
residential tower was added to Clam Castle in 1636; in Weitra, the 
castle was demolished and a rectangular building with an arcaded 
courtyard was erected in 1590.

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By that time tournaments had become an integral part of life in 
medieval castles; often the places where these tournaments were held 
also served as a glacis, a gradually sloping terrace which added to 
the strength of the counterscarp and absorbed many of the projectiles 
fired from artillery pieces of limited range and elevation. In the 
course of the 16%%sup th/%  century, castles increasingly served as a 
siege-proof haven for the local population against invaders, 
especially in those areas threatened by the Osmans.

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In the Baroque period the castle finally became a palace. Mostly 
unfortified, the new palaces were sumptuously laid out with parks and 
gardens attached to them; however, they often merely served as summer 
residences, like Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, Eggenberg Palace in 
Graz, Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, the Hofburg Palace in Innsbruck, 
Laxenburg Palace, Schlosshof Palace and Belvedere Palace in Vienna. 
The Austrian court nobility had their town houses frequently converted 
into mansions at this time. Additional buildings such as the 
dairy-farm gained in importance. Structures not suitable for residence 
were mostly abandoned and finally fell into disrepair; sometimes more 
comfortable buildings were erected right next to them. The 
introduction of the building tax at the close of the 18%%sup th/%  
century, however, led to a general decline of castles, many of which 
were reduced to ruins. Some of them served as barracks in the 
19%%sup th/%  century.

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The age of Biedermeier saw the development of historicist castles 
(Franzensburg, Grafenegg); quite often they were built in the English 
Tudor style (Kreuzenstein Palace is a typical example). Hunting lodges 
built by upper-class citizens such as factory owners and owners of 
mines predominated in rural areas.

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By the second half of the 19%%sup th/%  century castles and palaces 
had largely lost their economic value; and especially in the 
20%%sup th/%  century some of them were expropriated and finally 
passed into public ownership. A large number of castles and palaces 
were demolished after the end of World War II during the period of 
Austria´s occupation.

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Since 1950 many castles and palaces have been revitalized, often with 
the help of public financing; at present they usually house museums 
(Salzburg, Innsbruck, Linz, Graz-Eggenberg, Schallaburg), serve as 
seats of government (Graz and Vienna), as town halls (Salzburg), or 
cultural centres (Eisenstadt), etc.

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Scientific study of castles originated in the 19%%sup th/%  century 
(A. Piper, Oesterr. Burgen-Kunde, 8 vols., 1902-10) and was 
continued in the period between World War I and World War II (R. 
Baravalle and W. Knapp, Steir. Burgen, 3 vols., 1936-1941; G. 
Binder, Burgen und Schloesser in Niederoesterreich, 
2 vols., 1925; Burgen-Archiv und Karte der Wehr- und 
Schlossbauten in Niederoesterreich von F. Halmer, Planaufnahmen durch 
A. Klaar, W. Goetting and W. Knapp); in 1950, the scientific study of 
castles was further stimulated by a committee set up by the Austrian 
Academy of Sciences (Verzeichnis oesterreichischer Burgen und 
Schloesser 1955). Many experts have been active on a regional and 
local scale ever since (R. Buettner); reconstructions have been made 
to produce miniature models of castles (O. Chmelik, K. Schemper), and 
a large number of books about castles are available in Austria.

!Literature
E. Berger, in: Adel im Wandel, exhibition catalogue, 1990; 
M. Mitterauer, Burg und Adel in den oesterreichischen Laendern, in: H. 
Patze, Die Burgen im deutschen Sprachraum 2, 1976; volume 
published by the Birken-Verlag; G. Stenzel, Oesterreichs Burgen, 1989; 
G. Clam-Martinic, Oesterr. Burgen-Lexikon, 1992.


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