To be privately owned
CastleFeldkirchen an der Donau-Bad Mühllacken
Oberwallsee Castle
The castle ruin of Oberwallsee is located above the Pesenbach valley in the Bad Mühllacken district of the municipality of Feldkirchen in the Urfahr-Umgebung district in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria. The castle was built between 1364 and 1386 and converted into a palace in 1600. After 1750, the castle was left to decay, and from 1958, parts were briefly inhabited.
On October 30, 1364, Eberhard von Wallsee, as governor of Upper Austria, received permission to build a castle on the Klausberg. The land belonged to the lordship of Freudenstein, which was also owned by the family. The construction was completed in 1386 and was named Oberwallsee, as the Veste Niederwallsee, also family-owned, already existed in Lower Austria. Duke Albrecht V granted blood jurisdiction in 1415. In 1483, the last Wallseer died in the male line.
Through inheritance, the castle came into the possession of the Schaunberger family. Around 1500, the Schaunbergers handed over the castle to the administrator Christoph the Cammerer, and in 1540 to Kaspar Neuhauser. After the extinction of the Schaunbergers (1559), it came into the possession of Emperor Ferdinand I. Hans Hofmann von Grünpichl was enfeoffed with Oberwallsee as administrator, followed by Pankraz Schmiedtauer. Around 1600, Jobst Schmiedtauer had the castle converted into a palace and expanded the buildings in Renaissance style. In 1625, the Protestant Schmiedtauers had to give up the palace, and Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg received Oberwallsee.
In 1717, Gundaker Thomas Starhemberg was granted the lordship of Oberwallsee. In the 18th century, the lordship was connected with Eschelberg. The palace was henceforth used by craftsmen and smallholders, and no investment was made in the building. As a result, the palace began to decay. In 1931, Ernst Rüdiger II Prince Starhemberg had to sell the castle. In 1958, the ruin came into the possession of the Prokisch-Frank family. Subsequently, some residential buildings of the outer bailey were restored, and the most necessary safety work was carried out on the main castle.
Construction+
The castle stands on the wooded Klausberg, the outer bailey has an area of 2857 square meters, the main castle is 1443 square meters. The castle is surrounded by a ring wall more than two meters thick. From the gate tower, one enters the forecourt, which is twelve meters higher. In front of the castle gate was a moat with a wooden bridge. The ruin of the three-story main castle has oversized windows that had no defensive function. The wall consists of rubble masonry. Nothing remains of a keep today; it stood in the north, as the first drawings of the castle in the 17th century show.
The interiors were equipped with open fireplaces, and the only well-preserved residential building is the "Hausstöckl" of the outer bailey, which still served as a residence in the 20th century. The chapel is dedicated to Saint Pancras and is also a ruin.
Take Mobile History with you
You are reading this text for free. Premium adds what matters on the road: descriptions read aloud, sites found through your camera, whole regions taken offline.
- Every description, including the ~17,700 Premium sites
- Audio guide: have descriptions read to you on location
- AR finder: see sites through your camera, with distance and bearing
- Unlimited saved sites
14 days free, then from €2.99 a month. Cancel anytime.
Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ruine_Oberwallsee_Hauptburg_06.jpg
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 48.3682, 14.0593