Mauterndorf Castle (german: Burg Mauterndorf) is a castle in the municipality of

Mauterndorf Mauterndorf (Southern Bavarian: ''Mautndorf'') is a market town of the Tamsweg District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The municipality also comprises the Katastralgemeinden ''Faningberg, Neuseß'' and ''Steindorf''. Geography It is located in ...

, in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. It is situated at an altitude of .Burg Mauterndorf Altitude and Location
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History

Roman fort

Mautendorf Castle was probably built on the site of an old

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

fort that dates to AD 326 or earlier. The fort had protected the Roman mountain road from

Teurnia Teurnia (later Tiburnia) was a Roman city (''municipium''). Today its ruins lie in western Carinthia. In late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mentioned as the capital of the province of Noricum me ...

via

Radstädter Tauern Pass Radstädter Tauern Pass (el. 1,738 m or 5,702 ft) is a high mountain pass in the Austrian state of Salzburg, connecting the town of Radstadt in the Pongau region with Mauterndorf in Lungau. Geography The pass separates the Radstadt Tauern ...

to Iuvavum (present-day

) and served as a residence for the Roman administrator in the

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

province. The original fort was destroyed during the Migration Period.

Medieval castle

A castle built on the site in later years was funded and supported by a toll (German: ''Maut'') collection system for the nearby road. Evidence for this comes from a deed gift issued by Emperor Henry II in the year 1002. "Dorf" is a German suffix for village or settlement. The castle itself was not mentioned until in 1253, the time when the keep (''

Bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

'') was erected. Held by the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, the fortress was significantly enlarged under the rule of the archbishops

Burkhard Weisbriach Burkhard von Weisbriach (1420/23–1466) was a German Roman Catholic cardinal and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1461 until his death. Biography He was probably born at Weißpriach Castle in the Salzburg Lungau region about 1420 or 1423, th ...

(1420/23–1466) and

Leonhard von Keutschach Leonhard von Keutschach (c. 1442 – 8 June 1519) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1495 until his death, the last to rule in the feudal style. Biography He was probably born at Viktring in Carinthia, the son of Otto von Keutschach, a ...

(c. 1442–1519) during the 15th century, to reach the form it still has today.

Modern period

The toll system on the Radtsädter Tauern Pass road supported the castle and village until 1803 when the toll collection was abandoned during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. In 1806 the castle became a possession of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

state. In 1894 the Mautendorf Castle was purchased by

Hermann Epenstein Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Mis ...

(1851–1934), a Christian of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent, who served as a Prussian Army surgeon in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. He refurbished and restored the decayed castle with great effort for use as a residence. In 1908 he obtained the minor title of a ''

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above " Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles a ...

'' von Mauternburg from the Austrian emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

for his meritorious services and donation to the Crown. During his service in

German South-West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...

in the late 1880s, Epenstein had become friends with Commissioner

Heinrich Ernst Göring Heinrich Ernst Göring (31 October 1839 – 7 December 1913) was a German jurist and diplomat who served as colonial governor of German South West Africa. He was the father of five children including Hermann Göring, the Nazi leader and comman ...

. Back in Germany, he offered the Göring family hospitality in his residences. He became the attending physician (and only slightly hidden lover) of Göring's wife Franziska, as well as the godfather and mentor of his children. The Göring family, among them the younger sons Hermann and

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, frequently stayed at Mauterndorf Castle as Epenstein's guests. Epenstein later became a naturalized Austrian citizen and retired after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to live in Mauterndorf. In 1923 he received Hermann Göring who had fled from Germany after the failed Beer Hall Putsch to evade criminal prosecution. When Epenstein died in 1934, the property would pass to his widow who herself bequested the castle to Epenstein's godson Hermann Göring on her death in 1939. Göring, however, never was formally the owner of the castle as an entry in the land register never occurred, which was decided in a yearlong lawsuit between Epenstein's heirs and the state of Germany. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Göring tried to flee to 'the castle of my youth', he did however surrender to

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

forces at nearby Bruck because he was afraid of

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

troops proceeding up the Mur valley towards Mauterndorf.

Museum, cultural venue

Since 1968 the building has been owned by the state of Salzburg, and a castle museum was established in 2003. A number of other enterprises share the premises, including a noted local restaurant and catering service. Other uses have been as a meeting place for scientific conferences of international standing and as venue for various cultural events. The

Lungau Bezirk Tamsweg is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria. It is congruent with the Lungau region (). The administrative centre of the district is Tamsweg. Geography The area of the Lungau plateau is 1,0 ...

Regional Museum opened in May 2007 under the guidance of curator Helga Gappmayer. The museum has undergone several stages of construction to achieve its theme of "Tradition with a new look".

References

* ''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauterndorf, Burg Castles in Salzburg (state) Museums in Salzburg (state) Historic house museums in Austria