Rohrau Castle

The origins of the area around Rohrau date back to the 12th century, when it was owned by the Margraves of Cham and Vohburg. A manor house was first mentioned in 1240, associated with Dietrich de Rorow from the House of Liechtenstein. After the extinction of this line in 1278, the lordship passed by marriage to Leutold I von Stadeck. When the Stadeckers died out in 1399, Duke Wilhelm attempted to seize the lordship. However, the guardian of the heiress Guta, Count Hermann II von Cilli, managed to declare Rohrau an imperial fief, and King Wenzel enfeoffed him with it in 1400. In 1402, Rohrau came to Count Ulrich von Montfort-Pfannberg, who had married Guta. The Montforts were officially enfeoffed with the castle and lordship in 1404 and held them for 120 years. The Harrach family, which appeared in Southern Bohemia in the 13th century and later in the Mühlviertel, shifted its interests to Vienna and Lower Austria. Leonhard III von Harrach acquired the lordship and fortress of Rohrau in Lower Austria in 1524 and received permission to name himself after it.