Trautenfels Castle (German: ''Schloss Trautenfels'') is a palace located in the district of

Liezen Liezen (Central Bavarian: ''Liezn'') is a municipality in the Austrian federal state of Styria, district capital of the district of the same name and economic center on the River Enns. Population Politics Since 1995, the left-wing SPÖ party ...

in Styria. It lies directly on the Enns at 673m in the municipality

Pürgg-Trautenfels Pürgg-Trautenfels is a former municipality in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Stainach-Pürgg. Geography Pürgg-Trautenfels lies in valley of the up ...

on a cliff protrusion at the foot of the

Grimming The Grimming (2,351 m, ) is an isolated mountain, peak in the Dachstein Mountains of Austria and one of the few ultra-prominent mountains of the Alps. Geography Location The Grimming rises between the Enns valley and Salzkammergut, east o ...

History

The first documented mention of a construction at the crossroads of the Salzstrasse with the stretch through the Ennstal Valley dates from 1260 to 1262. The medieval construction served as a dam until the 16th century and was known as the ''Neuhaus''. Most notable among the 16th century accouterments are 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 ...

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

. They were likely created by a northern

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

artist on the occasion of the then owner, Ferdinand Hoffman's, wedding to Margarete von Harrach in 1563. The Styrian provincial governor, Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff acquired the castle in 1664. He had the building renovated and expanded into a palace after the fashion of the Baroque between 1670 and 1672 and at this time it was given the name, Schloss Trautenfels. The mighty rectangular construction with (roofed) courts and a high tower accommodates a significant interior decoration (1670 to 1673) with frescoes by

Carpoforo Tencalla Carpoforo Tencalla (or Tencala) (10 September 1623 - 9 March 1685) was an influential Swiss-Italian Baroque painter of canvases and frescoes. He is little studied and has come only recently to the attention of art critics and historians. He intro ...

in the first floor. The free standing castle chapel as well as five bastions are also worth mentioning. After passing through numerous owners, the palace was bought by Josef Count Lamberg in 1878. After the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

the Styrian Youth Hostel Association (''Jugendherbergswerk'') acquired the palace and managed it until 1983. At this time the palace came into the possession of the municipality of

and the state of Styria. Its renovation and the revitalization for use as a museum occurred from 1988 to 1992 based on plans by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, Manfred Wolff-Plottegg. In 1992, the ''Steierische Landesausstellung'' (Styrian Provincial Exhibition) took place here. Today the palace is home of the Regional Landscape Museum of the

Universalmuseum Joanneum The Universalmuseum Joanneum is a multidisciplinary museum with buildings in several locations in the province of Styria, Austria. It has galleries and collections in many subject areas including archaeology, geology, paleontology, mineralogy, b ...

Landscape Museum

The palace holds a permanent show collection of about 1000 exhibits dealing with both the natural and the cultural history of the Ennstal Valley as well as the Ausseerland region. In addition, the Antler Room of the Counts of Lamberg, the splendid Marble Hall and the richly decorated State Rooms are also open to visitors.

Church ruins

A few metres west of the palace on the same ridge lie the ruins of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

church of Neuhaus. At the time of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

this was the most significant religious centre of the upper Ennstal valley. The church was established by the lords of Schloss Trautenfels but fell victim shortly thereafter to the particularly potent Counter-Reformation in the Duchy of Styria. In 1991 the remnants of the building were excavated and serve today as a memorial.

Trivia

In honor of the castle the Bremer shipping company ''Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa" (DDG-Hansa)'' has given her 1975 newly acquired

heavy-lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be floated o ...

the name ''Trautenfels''.

Gallery

File:Vischer - Topographia Ducatus Stiriae - 443 Trautenfels bei Irdning.jpg, ''Käyserlichen Geographi, Topographia Ducatus Stiriae'' by G. M. Vischers, 1681 File:Trautenfels - Fassade 1.jpg, Trautenfels Castle File:Trautenfels - Marmorsaal 1.jpg, Marble Hall with frescoes by Carpoforo Tencalla File:Trautenfels - Marmorsaal 1.jpg, Trautenfels castle marble hall with frescos, 1670–73 File:Trautenfels - Ernte.jpg, Harvesting exhibit from Landscape Museum File:Schloss Trautenfels und Pfarrkirche Pürgg.jpg, Trautenfels Castle at night File:Heavy cargo ship Trautenfels of the DDG Hansa shipping -1977.jpg, The German heavy-lift ship Trautenfels in 1977

Literature

* Karin Leitner-Ruhe, "Aber zugreifen soll man, wo man nur kann." Zum Verkauf von Schloss Trautenfels 1941 durch die Familie Lamberg an die Deutsche Reichspost, in: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Volkskunde 113 (2010), . * Katharina Krenn, Schloss Trautenfels - ein dynamischer Platz für ein Museum?, in: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Volkskunde 113 (2010), .

External links

The Joanneum - Schloss Trautenfels
{{authority control Palaces in Austria Art museums and galleries in Austria Tourist attractions in Styria Museums in Styria Natural history museums in Austria History museums in Austria Historic house museums in Austria