Rauchenkatsch is a castle site near Krems in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

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 ...

. The medieval fortress was first mentioned in an 1197 deed; it was built at the behest of the Archbishops of Salzburg to control the historic trade route across

Katschberg Pass Katschberg Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria between Rennweg am Katschberg in the state of Carinthia and Sankt Michael im Lungau in Salzburg. Geography It connects the Carinthian Katsch Valley in the s ...

History

In 1007 King

Henry II of Germany Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler o ...

granted the surrounding estates to the

Bishops of Freising The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria: Bishops of Freising * St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not orga ...

. However, the Freising bishops had no much interest in the remote area and soon after ceded it to the Archbishopric of Salzburg. In an exchange contract signed in 1197 with the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks of

Millstatt Abbey Millstatt Abbey (german: Stift Millstatt) is a former monastery in Millstatt, Austria. Established by Benedictine monks about 1070, it ranks among the most important Romanesque buildings in the state of Carinthia. The Benedictines were succeeded ...

, the castle appeared as ''castrum chaetze''; it was possibly erected at the site of a

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 letter ...

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Demolished by an earthquake in 1201, the castle was soon after rebuilt. Mentioned as ''Rouhenkaze'' in 1241 deed, the castle was staffed with Salzburg ''

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...

'' who effectively controlled the movement of travellers and goods across the

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern bor ...

mountain range on the road from

Radstadt Radstadt (Central Bavarian: ''Rodstoud'' or ''Rodstod'') is a historic town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography The town is part of the Salzburg Pongau region. It is located in the valley of the ...

and

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 ...

down to the

Carinthian Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carint ...

town of Gmünd. Rauchenkatsch was finally sold by Prince-Archbishop

Wolf Dietrich Raitenau Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (26 March 1559 – 16 January 1617) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612. Life Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau, near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werne ...

in 1605 and decayed afterwards. The last remnants were destroyed during the preparatory work for the construction of the

Tauern Autobahn The Tauern Autobahn (A 10) is an Autobahns of Austria, autobahn (motorway) in Austria. It starts at the Salzburg junction with the West Autobahn (A1), runs southwards, crosses the Hohe Tauern, Tauern mountain range on the main chain of the Alps an ...

in 1967.

References

''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.'' Castles in Carinthia (state) {{Carinthia-geo-stub

History

See also

References