Krempelstein Castle

Krempelstein Castle, also known as Krämpelstein, Schneiderburg, or Schneiderschlössl, is a castle located on the Danube in the Pyrawang district of the municipality of Esternberg in Upper Austria. The castle is situated on a rocky outcrop high above the right bank of the Danube.

The names Schneiderburg and Schneiderschlössl refer to the legend of a tailor who allegedly lived in the castle with his goat and, while attempting to bury the dead goat in the Danube, plunged to his death with it. August Graf von Platen and Johann Nepomuk Vogl wrote poems about this.

The coat of arms of the municipality of Esternberg is also derived from this story.

The castle, first mentioned in 1337, was under the control of ministeriales of the Bishop of Passau from 1370 and became part of Austria in 1782 with the Innviertel region. The castle served as a toll station and later as a retreat for the Bishops of Passau. Castle guardians included Jans Thymayer (1370-1380), the Raspen family (1406-1421), and Ulrich Kastenmayer (1421-1424). Administrators mentioned were Hans Zenger (1424), Heinrich Hevraus (1473), Georg Perneck (1495), and Burghart von Messenbeck (1505-1510). From 1601, Krämpelstein was administered from Vichtenstein Castle. The most notable event is the forced stay of Prelate and Passau Cathedral Provost Dr. Rupert von Moosheim, who was held here as a heretic due to his reformist views and died in 1545 after five years of imprisonment. Neglected for a long time, it was acquired by the Counts of Pachta in 1865. In 1937, Eduard Munninger leased it, expanded it from 1938 to 1942, and established a guesthouse and artists' retreat there. Until 1965, Rosicrucians met here. After a fire in 1984, the castle was renovated. Today, it is no longer accessible to tourists and locals. The castle is owned by Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Schulz-Wulkow from Vichtenstein.