Hagenau Castle

Hagenau Castle is a Renaissance castle in the municipality of St. Peter, Braunau am Inn district, Upper Austria. It stands next to the bay of the old Mattig estuary on a rocky spur projecting into the Inn.

A castle, located near the present-day castle, is first documented as property of the naming family in 1088 ("Hartwicus de Hagenowe"). After the extinction of the Upper Austrian line of the Hagenauers, it passed to the Bishops of Passau in 1152, who gave it as a fief to a ministerial family, who also named themselves after the castle. The most famous Hagenauer was Reginbert, Bishop of Passau, who died in the Crusade of 1147. However, with Ludwig von Hagenau, this noble family also died out in 1262, so the complex briefly came into the possession of the Ortenburgers, and then to the Dukes of Bavaria.

The castle often changed owners; it was owned by the Toerring (from 1270) and the Ahamer (around 1400). In 1525, the Taimer zu Mühlheim bought it and remained owners until 1635.

In 1571, the old castle was demolished because it had been severely damaged by several fires and floods. At the same time, the present castle was built on an elevated, flood-protected site. The damming of the Inn for the Frauenstein power plant now creates the false impression that it was planned as a moated castle.

In 1635, Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria gifted the estate to his personal physician Ferdinand Schütz. He had the brewery and stables built near the castle. The Elector allowed him to bear the title "von und zu Hagenau und St. Peter".

In 1710, Count Ferdinand Josef von Rheinstein und Tattenbach acquired the castle. Due to dilapidation, it had to be rebuilt between 1717 and 1728. In 1722, it passed to Johann Franz Graf Franking, and in 1829, by inheritance, to the Barons von Handel. Baron Max von Handel converted Hagenau into a castle hotel, but this venture was not successful. After his death in 1966, the property passed to his daughter Colette Spaur. This family still owns the castle today and had it restored in 2001.