Götzendorf Castle

The history of Götzendorf Castle dates back to 1180 and is characterized by four periods of ownership:

• Lords of Götzendorf, 1180–1422
• Lords of Vichtenstein/Hauzenberg, 1422–1453
• Lords of Oedt, 1453–1756
• Princes of Lamberg, 1756–1912

The Lords of Götzendorf, of Vichtenstein and of Hauzenberg

The name Walter von Gocynesdorf first appears in 1180 in a parchment document of Wilhering Abbey. Later, the name Gecynesdorf became Gezendorf and finally Götzendorf. Furthermore, in 1303, a certain Wernhart von Götzendorf appears as a vassal of Haichenbach, and "her Chunrat de Gozenstorf, the honorable knight" was a regional judge above the Enns in 1306. The then Lords of Götzendorf were ministeriales of the Passau bishops and presumably built the former castle on behalf of Passau. With Jakob von Götzendorf, the Götzendorfer lineage died out. One of his two daughters married a Viechtensteiner, the second a Hauzenberger. On November 10, 1422, Götzendorf, as a Passau fief, passed by marriage half to the Lords Heinrich von Viechtenstein and Jörg the Hauzenberger. In 1453, however, their sons sold the castle and lordship after 31 years of ownership to Martin von Oedt.

The Lords of Oedt

Martin von Oedt (1453–1480) had been the Passau administrator at Sprinzenstein Castle since 1450. On September 10, 1453, he acquired Götzendorf by purchase and from then on called himself "Merth von Oedt zu Getzendorff". The lordship was expanded in the following years through further acquisitions. The ancestral seat of the Oedter family was at Hofe Oedt near Aichberg, in the parish of Waldkirchen am Weser. Martin von Oedt was married twice. His first wife Ursula was the daughter of Wolf Jörgers von Lichtenau, which made the Oedter family also owners of this castle. Ursula bore two children, a son named Mathias and a daughter named Magdalena, but Ursula died very early. In his second marriage, Martin von Oedt was blessed with three children, Marx, Barbara, and Margaretha, with Anastasia, daughter of Leonhard Herleinsperger. After the death of Martin von Oedt in 1480, his two sons Mathias and Marx divided their father's inheritance.

Mathias Lord of Götzendorf (1480–1526) now became Lord of Götzendorf and Marx Lord of Lichtenau. Like his father, his son Mathias made it his goal to further expand his possessions. Mathias married Magdalena Vezinger (Uezinger) and together they had three sons, namely Georg, Balthasar, and Wolfgang, and four other daughters. In 1526, Mathias died. Balthasar von Oedt (1526–1551) married Benigna in 1534, who was the daughter of the then governor of Upper Austria, Baron Wolf Jörger von Tollet. However, this marriage remained childless. In 1551, Balthasar received confirmation of nobility from King Ferdinand I and from then on called himself "Oeder von Oedt zu Götzendorf". In 1551, Balthasar died and was buried in the parish church of Rohrbach. Since the marriage between Balthasar and Benigna was childless, the son of his brother Wolfgang, Sebastian, received the Götzendorf estate.

Sebastian von Oedt (1551–1583) married Regina, the daughter of Erasmus von Rödern from Perg Castle, in 1559. This marriage produced five children: Hans Christoph, Georg Achaz, and Sebastian, as well as two daughters. In 1583, he was buried in the parish church of Rohrbach, where a red marble tombstone commemorates him. Hans Christoph von Oedt zu Götzendorf (1583–1630) Hans Christoph was the son of Sebastian von Oedt and further expanded the castle. During this time, the Meierhof in Götzendorf was newly built, and the arcades in the castle courtyard and the gardens were constructed. Through an inheritance from his cousin Hans Oedt zu Lichtenau, Sebastian von Oedt came into possession of Straßfelden Castle near Linz and the Helfenberg Freisitz. He had this castle rebuilt, and it was completed in 1607. After its completion, he was elevated to the rank of Baron by Emperor Rudolf II in 1608 and was henceforth allowed to call himself "Frei- und Panierherren von Oedt". From his marriage to Sabina, only two of sixteen children survived their father, namely Wolf and Philipp Heinrich. Philip Heinrich von Oedt zu Götzendorf (1630–1655) married Maria Katharina, the daughter of Baron Adam Eusebius von Hoyos, in 1637; after her death in 1650, he married Maria Maximiliana, who was the daughter of the Count of Sprinzenstein. From this marriage, which was blessed with three sons and six daughters, Erasmus Anton became the new castle owner. Erasmus Anton Count von Oedt zu Götzendorf (1655 - 1719) was elevated to the rank of Imperial Count by Emperor Charles IV in 1714, due to his services to the Empire in the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1672, he married Caritas Cordula, the daughter of Hans Friedrich von Gneisenau auf Helfenberg, and they had a son named Johann Christoph Heinrich and three daughters. Erasmus Anton died in 1719 and was buried in the parish church of Rohrbach, where a tombstone commemorates him.

Johann Christoph Heinrich Count von Oedt zu Götzendorf (1719–1750) served as chamberlain to Empress Eleonore, privy councilor and chamberlain to Emperor Charles VI, monastery councilor, and vice-governor and regent in Lower Austria. Furthermore, in 1719, he founded a benefice and a castle chaplain was appointed. He was married three times, and from his second marriage to Anna Charlotte von Geyersberg, his son Johann Karl Donat was born in 1710. In 1750, he was buried in the family crypt in Rohrbach. After the death of Johann Christoph Heinrich, the Götzendorf lordship was declared bankrupt, as the Imperial Count was heavily involved in Viennese politics and thus neglected his ancestral castle. This now belonged to the underage son, Johann Christoph (1750–1756), grandson of Johann Christoph, son of Johann Karl Donat, for whom Baron Briccius assumed guardianship. Since the underage heir died in 1756, at the age of twelve, the Oedt family line in Götzendorf was extinguished. The last Count von Oedt, Franz Karl, died in 1768 in Wilhelmsburg and had no male heir. The guardianship sold Götzendorf Castle and the manorial seat to Prince Johann Nepomuk Friedrich von Lamberg.

The Princes of Lamberg

Johann Nepomuk Friedrich von Lamberg bought the "Allodial of the Comital Oedt'schen Herrschaft". The Lamberg family, originally residing in Steyr, used the castle merely as a capital investment, and so the land was sold off in small portions. In 1899, Götzendorf Castle burned down completely. Imperial Count Karl Emil von Lamberg then sold the burnt-out site to the municipality of Oepping. The land that was still owned by the Lambergs was bought in 1912 by Franz Böck, a butcher and innkeeper in Sarleinsbach. Afterwards, the Meierhof and the land passed to various owners.

The castle houses an elementary school, where classes were first held on June 3, 1871. The necessary premises were provided by Prince Anton von Lamberg.

Initially, the school had one class and 84 Sunday school students were taught, who were divided into sections according to their knowledge. The number of students fluctuated between 72 and 113 in the following years. At the initial opening of the school, the first district governor of Rohrbach, Franz Sanna, and the first district school inspector, Michael Walz, were present. The first teacher at VS Götzendorf was head teacher Josef Ringler from Kollerschlag. From 1901, the school became two-class, as it is still run today under the direction of Maria Roth.