Hackledt Castle

Hackledt Castle is a former manorial seat in the village of Hackledt in the municipality of Eggerding in the Upper Austrian district of Schärding. The castle, located in a wooded area in a depression, is situated on the western edge of the village and was originally surrounded on three sides by agricultural land.

Hackledt Castle has been a protected monument since 1980. Today it is used as an inn. Although it is a protected monument, it is in need of renovation.

Hackledt Castle and Hofmark were the ancestral seat of the family of the same name, who resided there continuously from their first appearance in 1377 until the end of the 18th century. In the sources, it is never referred to as anything other than the free property of this family. The village is first mentioned in a arbitration ruling in 1396. Michael Wening wrote in 1721 that this "seat and castle of the Schärding regional court belonged to the Hächledt family from time immemorial until now."

While the complex was a comparatively small manor until the 17th century, the building was significantly rebuilt from 1664 onwards. Johann Georg von Hackledt (1611-1677) had it enlarged, whereby the castle moat was filled in and an extension was built in its place. At the same time, the complex was baroqueized in the taste of the time and the castle chapel in honor of St. James and St. Anne was installed. The castle thus received the appearance that is also preserved in Wening's copperplate engraving. The bay-like projecting extension on the western part, which has been preserved to this day, also dates from this period. The northeast wing once had a kitchen with an open hearth in its extension.

In 1779, the Innviertel came under Habsburg rule after the Peace of Teschen. The Hackledt family and their property in the Innviertel also came under Austrian sovereignty at that time. The Hofmark of Hackledt Castle comprised a total of 60 subordinate estates at this time, mainly farms, which were located in the area around the villages of Eggerding, St. Marienkirchen and Mayrhof. Shortly before his death, Joseph Anton Freiherr von Hackledt (1729-1799) appointed his distant relative Johann Nepomuk Freiherr von Peckenzell (1776-1851) from Dorfbach as his universal heir. This brought the castle out of the Hackledt family.

Johann Nepomuk Freiherr von Peckenzell sold the castle in 1839 for 27,000 guilders to Reichersberg Abbey. The abbey kept it until 1928 and then sold it to the farming couple Josef and Theresia Großbötzl from Mayrhof. The purchase price for the pure real estate was 46,000 shillings. After the castle came into civilian hands, a rapid change of owners followed, with the remaining grounds gradually separated and sold. Rooms in the castle were adapted for use as an inn. The Großbötzl family was followed by the Stiegerbauer, Matz, Rachbauer and Wildi families as owners. More recently, the roof and facade have been restored. Currently, exhibitions, concerts, lecture evenings and readings are regularly held in the castle again.