Schallaburg Castle is a castle in the village of Schallaburg in the municipality of Schollach, near the

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connois ...

valley,

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 ...

, north of the Alps. Schallaburg Renaissance Castle is from

Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery ...

, in the region known as Mostviertel. The central part of the castle was built in the German Renaissance Age, beginning around 1540, by the Losenstein dynasty.

History of the castle Schallaburg

In 1242, the castle appears in a document for the first time mentioned as fortress Schala. From the 13th to the 15th century the castle was owned by the lords of Zelking (German: ''von Zelking''). From 1456 until 1614, castle Schallaburg was in the possession of the family ''von Losenstein''. In the 16th century Hans Wilhelm von Losenstein renovated it into a

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought a ...

, and rebuilt the church of

Loosdorf Loosdorf is a town in the district of Melk in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. History The first-known mention of Loosdorf, then referred to as "Ladestorf," dates to 1145. Even from this period, the town had a strong connection to the nea ...

into a Renaissance Lutheran church. There he also founded a Lutheran grammar school for youths of both nobility and non-nobility ('die Hohe Schule', 1574-1627). In 1601 Hans Wilhelm von Losenstein died, resulting in rested high debts on the castle. In 1614 the father-in-law of George Christoph auf Losensteinleithen, George von Stubenberg, bought the castle. In 1627 the church and school were closed according to a law issued by the archduke of Austria emperor Ferdinand II, who wished to restore the Catholic faith in Lower Austria. From the 17th century until the 20th, the castle changed owners several times. It remained private property until 1945. In 1945 it was confiscated by the Russians, and then in 1955 the castle became property of the new Republic of Austria.

Description

The castle is combination of a Romanesque residential castle and a Gothic chapel, patterned in the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

style. Aesthetically built, it has a well-decorated two-storied arcaded court with elegant cantilevered staircases and a courtyard. The decorations are in

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

depicting mythological figures, gods, masks and human beings and animals; a legendary mythical figurine here is known as ''Hundefräulein'' (a female human figure with a dog's head). At the gate entrance to the castle, there are two large "smoke-spewing dragons", each long and high, which is a favourite entertainment spot for the children to slide down its mouth from the top. Its culturally rich Mannerist gardens have roses, ornamental trees and bushes and herbs planted in the gardens in the town, and two Renaissance apple orchards.

Schallaburg

Schallaburg is a village in the municipality of Schollach, in

. Schallaburg is situated at an altitude of 310 m.Schallaburg Altitude and Location
/ref> The Schallaburg Castle is one of the best known

castles in

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 ...

. Today the castle functions as a museum.

Museum Schallaburg

In 1967 the government of Lower Austria bought the castle from the Austrian state. The government of Lower Austria decided to renovate the Schallaburg. In 1968 the restoration started with the roof. In 1974 the Schallaburg was opened as a museum for Lower Austria. The topic of the first exhibition of museum Schallaburg in 1974 was the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. Every year there is a new exhibition; the exhibition of 2011 was on the history of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, the one of 2012 about Byzantium. On March 29, 2014 an exhibition on the

First World War 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 ...

called "Glory and Gloom - living with the Great War 1914-1918" was opened. The exhibition showed weapons, movies, historical posters, post cards from particulars and other items from that time. In 2015 the Vikings were the topic of the annual exhibition.

References

External links

Official site

The home page of Museum Schallaburg
{{Authority control Houses completed in 1572 Castles in Lower Austria Renaissance architecture in Austria Gardens in Austria Museums in Lower Austria 1572 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 16th-century establishments in Austria Establishments in the Archduchy of Austria