Location: Carinthia
Constructed: 1252
Gmünd Castle or Burgruine Gmund is a historic medieval citadel in the Austrian province of Carinthia. It dates its construction to the 12th century.
The castle ruins are located in the Liesertal on a south-facing spur north of the town of Gmünd in Carinthia. From here, paths to the west and east lead to the castle. Further west, a dirt road leads up the hill to the castle. The castle can also be reached by vehicle from the north via private property.
Gmünd Castle was built in the 14th century as part of the
expansion of the city to the north-west, when the market town
belonging to the Archbishopric of Salzburg was elevated to the
status of a city (1346) and grew rapidly. A castle in Gmünd, which
was already mentioned in a document in 1292, is now assigned to the
Amthof in the south-west corner of the city, since no building
structure from the 13th century was found in today's Old Castle. The
castle originally consisted of a five-storey residential tower and a
five-storey keep with associated walls that were integrated into the
city wall. The first phase of construction is dated to 1320-1360.
After that, the castle was often expanded or rebuilt. Around
1350-1400 the residential tower was extended to the northeast and
increased by one floor.
Since the Salzburg Archbishop
Bernhard von Rohr in a dispute with Emperor Friedrich III. granted
the king of Hungary Matthias Corvinus the right to occupy his
estates, Hungarian troops occupied Gmünd in 1480 and carried out
raids and plundering in the area. The Carinthian estates finally put
an end to this hustle and bustle in 1487 by sieging and shelling
Gmünd with a cartridge and smaller artillery. The castle was
severely damaged, the Hungarians had to withdraw and Gmünd fell to
the emperor. In 1502, Maximilian I, Friedrich's son, sold Gmünd to
the Archbishop of Salzburg, Leonhard von Keutschach, but retained
the right to repurchase it. In 1504 the town was devastated by a
town fire, which may have also damaged the castle.
Together
with the town, a ward wall was also built in front of the castle,
which is dated to 1470-1500. It is therefore unclear whether this
wall was built in the Hungarian era, in the imperial era or in the
era of Leonhard von Keutschach. What is certain, however, is that
the archbishop had the castle, which was damaged after the siege and
probably the city fire, restored and expanded. Existing components
were given new portal and window walls, vaults were added to the
lower floors and two wings were added to the south and north-east.
In addition, a new two-storey gate tower was built north of the
Zwinger. These components are dated 1504-1511 and significantly
upgraded the castle. In 1525 there was an uprising by farmers and
miners. They occupied Gmünd, but could not take the castle. The
uprising was suppressed with the help of the sovereign. An extension
to the residential tower and bay window tract with vaults and two
residential floors was also built during this period.
In 1555
Emperor Ferdinand I bought back Gmünd von Salzburg and pledged it to
Christoph Pflügl von Goldenstein. He built the five-storey western
Renaissance wing with a round tower, which adjoins the residential
tower and builds over the gate tower of the Zwinger. Furthermore,
the south-west bay window was raised by one floor. Between 1607 and
1615, master builder Daniel Deutta built the city palace under Count
Rudolf von Raitenau, which reduced the importance of the castle as
the seat of the town lords. In 1690 an earthquake destroyed parts of
the town of Gmünd and damaged the castle. In 1886 a fire finally
destroyed the castle and it was left in ruins and decay.
Beginning in 1971 and from 1977 to 1980, renovation work was carried
out on the castle with the significant participation of the Gmünd
town association in order to save the building from complete decay.
In 1987, after the building fabric had been secured, the castle was
opened for public viewing. The first events have taken place. From
1992 a restaurant was set up.
Todays use
Since 1992 there has been a castle restaurant with a
terrace in the castle. The tower is used as an observation tower and
there are guided tours as part of city tours. Various events such as
concerts, cabaret, readings or theatrical performances take place on the
premises. There are also art exhibitions. The Burgtheater Gmünd puts on
a play in the castle every summer.
Legend
A legend of unknown
interpretation and tradition shows that three lansquenets are said to
have captured immeasurable treasures. They decided to roll the dice for
all the winnings. The winner bought land and people and built the
castle, but lost everything just as he had won it. At the Zwinger gate
of the castle there are stone balls embedded in the wall, which are
arranged like dice fields.