Marsbach Castle

Marsbach is a castle in the Danube Valley near Hofkirchen im Mühlkreis in Upper Austria. Marsbach is the oldest noble seat in the upper Mühlviertel. From the complex, which has fortress characteristics, one can view the Danube from Niederranna to the Schlögener Schlinge. This was of great importance for the feuding knights residing there, today abbreviated as robber knights.

Marsbach Castle (castrum morspah) was first mentioned in a document in 1075 with Raffoldus de morspah. The fortress was Passau's own property, and the Marsbachers, who named themselves after the castle, were episcopal ministerials. In Passau documents from 1226, Otto von Marsbach is named as a ministerial.

Due to a declaration of outlawry by King Henry VII, Heinrich von Marsbach was forced to surrender the "castrum marpsach" to the Bishop of Passau as restitution. Otto von Marsbach confirmed the submission in 1255, but in 1269 he seized the castle and, in league with Pilgrim von Falkenstein and Chunrad von Tannberg, made the roads between Passau and Eferding unsafe. Otto and Ortolf II von Marsbach conquered their father's castle in 1267 and drove out their father, who fled to Passau. An arbitration by the bishop brought only short-term peace; shortly thereafter, the feud flared up again. It was not until 1288 that Duke Albrecht I of Austria and Duke Heinrich of Bavaria settled the dispute; the Marsbachers were compensated with possessions in Bavaria, and Marsbach again came under the bishops of Passau. The castle was administered by caretakers or, if necessary, pledged. In 1303, Leopold von Marsbach was burgrave, in 1367 Chunrat Herleinsperger was caretaker. The Marsbachers died out in 1380. In 1486, Othmar and Mattheus Oberhaimer appear here. The outstanding location of the castle again led to breaches of the peace and robber knighthood. In 1520, Marsbach was conquered by Duke Ernst of Bavaria and 150 Passau citizens; Knight Othmar Oberhaimer was captured, convicted, and beheaded. The castle then returned to Passau caretakers. The Oberhaimers died out in 1589.

In 1529, the administration of the Passau possessions in Mühllande (Mühlviertel) and the regional court previously located in Velden (today's Neufelden) were moved to Marsbach. The chief caretakers for the Mühlviertel include: Leonprecht Haunreuter (1528), Christoph Libenauer, Wolfgang Friedrich Moll (1541), Thomas Neuhofer (1548), Veit Tattenbeck (1591-1624). During the Turkish Wars, Marsbach served as a refuge for the population in 1594.

Between 1561 and 1598, Bishop Urban had the dilapidated complex renovated in the Renaissance style, and the old castle, with the exception of the tower, was demolished. In 1610, Marsbach was conquered by "Passau troops"; during the Peasant Wars, Marsbach was conquered by a peasant mob led by the Protestant baker David Spatt from Haibach, the 100-man Bavarian garrison was massacred, and the castle was partially destroyed. In 1612, Bishop Leopold of Passau pledged the castle and lordship for six years to Georg von Tattenbach. In 1791, Marsbach came to the princely court chamber councilor Franz Xaver Josch, but remained under Passau rule.

After the secularization of the Diocese of Passau in 1803, Marsbach came under Austrian rule. It became a chamber estate in 1805 and was publicly auctioned in 1824. Until 1848, Marsbach was the seat of the regional court.

Further owners included: Josef Stengl from Steyer (who sold valuable furnishings), Anton and Mathilde Sigmund (1860-1869). In the mid-19th century, it was acquired by Eduard Ritter von Krenn, followed by Anna Krenn (from 1905) and Norbert Mayr (from 1939).