Burg Wiener Neustadt is a castle in the Austrian city of
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
in
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
. It is the location of the
Theresian Military Academy
The Theresian Military Academy (german: Theresianische Militärakademie, TherMilAk) is a military academy in Austria, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. Founded in 1751, the academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt ...
, which was founded in 1751. The site is above sea level.
Burg Wiener Neustadt Height and Location
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History
The first castle at Wiener Neustadt was built in 1193–94, and the city walls were built at the same time. The costs were paid from the ransom of Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
. This castle is said to have stood on the north-eastern corner of the city, but there is no archaeological evidence of this.
When the original castle became too small, a new castle was built on the present site by Leopold VI the Glorious at the beginning of the 13th century. Since the area is quite marshy, it was built on wooden piles. Under Frederick II the Quarrelsome, it was finally surrounded by a moat, outer walls and towers.
In 1246, the Battle of the Leitha was fought east of the castle, and Frederick II was killed. A monument at Burgenland road still reminds of it. In 1260, the castle was first mentioned in documents. The wall was removed, however, under Otakar II of Bohemia by 1253 and then built up again in the late 13th century.
During an earthquake in 1348, the castle collapsed. This led to a larger new building under Leopold III starting in 1378. On the terrace that was built over the tomb chapel of Leopold IV, Peter Pusika on behalf of Duke Ernest the Iron built the ''Gottsleichnamkapelle'' (God's Body Chapel) and later, on behalf of Emperor Frederick III, the St. George's Chapel in the newly created West Wing. In many places of the castle, the inscription “A.E.I.O.U.
"A.E.I.O.U." (sometimes A.E.I.O.V.) was a symbolic device coined by Emperor Frederick III (1415–1493) and historically used as a motto by the Habsburgs. One note in his notebook (discovered in 1666), though not in the same hand, explains it in ...
” can still be found, which dates back to Frederick III.
When Frederick III refused to dismiss Ladislaus the Posthumous
Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...
from his guardianship, this led to the creation of the Mailberg Confederation (''Mailberger Bund'') and a siege of the castle in 1452 by an Estates' army of 16,000. After negotiations, Frederick III dismissed his ward. Subsequently, he founded the Order of St. George and made the castle available as the seat of the Order. The seat, however, was repealed in 1598.
1486 saw a renewed siege by Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...
, which ended after two years with the defenders' surrender. After Matthias' death in 1490, the occupation troops were expelled from the castle and city.
Under Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...
, the castle lost the status of permanent residence and became only a retreat of the emperor. Maximilian was buried in St. George's Chapel, although previously a tomb had been built in the Innsbruck Court Church.
In 1521, Emperor Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...
retreated to the castle because of the resistance of the Protestant Estates. Subsequently, the Vienna city government was arrested, and they were brought to trial (''Wiener Neustädter Blutgericht'', i.e. Wiener Neustadt Bloody Trial) and executed here. Other celebrities were detained in a tower that was adapted as a state prison, the ''Rákócziturm'' (Rákóczi Tower''), such as Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi ( hu, II. Rákóczi Ferenc, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–11 as the prince ( hu, fejedelem) of the Estates Confeder ...
or Peter, Count Zrin.
During the first Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529, the castle was attacked but not conquered. During the second siege in 1683, it was not attacked. In the years 1608 and 1616, fires caused major damage.
In 1743, 1400 French prisoners of war were detained in the castle. A little later, a pestilential epidemic broke out, which claimed many victims. The castle therefore remained closed (because of the risk of infection) for two years after the withdrawal of the survivors. Thereafter, it was hardly used and neglected.
Theresian Military Academy
In 1751, the Theresian Military Academy
The Theresian Military Academy (german: Theresianische Militärakademie, TherMilAk) is a military academy in Austria, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. Founded in 1751, the academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt ...
was founded by Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
and established in the castle. This involved numerous changes, which were implemented by Viennese architect Matthias Gerl. In 1768, an earthquake caused severe damage, which made the building uninhabitable. Three of the four towers had to be removed. In the east wing, new rooms were furnished for the emperor. In the place of God's Body Chapel, the main staircase was erected.
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 ...
, the military academy was closed, but it reopened in 1934. During the bombings 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 ...
in 1944–45, the castle (just like the city as a whole) was so badly damaged that only the outer walls remained standing. It was rebuilt after the war so that the military academy was able to resume operations in 1958.
The castle, which had always been the sovereign's property, is now owned by the Republic of Austria.
Additional elements
St. George's Cathedral
The St. George's Cathedral is a late Gothic hall church
A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
with three naves. It was created by Peter von Pusica and was built in the years 1440 to 1460.
The original chapel was called St. Mary's or Our Lady's Chapel. Under Frederick III, it was renamed to St. George's Chapel as the seat of the Knights of St. George's Order.
The chapel was destroyed in World War II. Only one pillar remained original. It was rebuilt after 1945 using the white sandstone from Kaisersteinbruch quarry.
In 1784, the former bishop's see was moved to St. Pölten. Only in 1963 did Wiener Neustadt became the see of the military bishop, and the chapel was promoted to cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
status in 1987 under military bishop Alfred Kostelecky.
Academy Park
The originally swampy area between the town and Leitha
The Leitha (; or , formerly ; Czech and sk, Litava) is a river in Austria and Hungary, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long ( including its source river Schwarza). Its basin area is .
Etymology
The ''Lithaha'' River in the Carolingia ...
river was drained under Frederick III. Also a zoological garden was created, which existed until 1751. The 106-hectare (262-acre) area was later converted into a park and has been open to the public since Maria Theresa.
See also
*List of castles in Austria
This page is a list of castles and castle ruins in Austria, arranged by state. A ''Burgruine'' is a ruined castle, a “castle ruin”.
Burgenland
* Burg Bernstein
* Burg Forchtenstein
* Burg Güssing
* Burgruine Landsee
* Burg Lockenhaus
* ...
References
External links
Theresian Military Academy
{{Castles in Austria
Castles in Lower Austria
Wiener Neustadt