To be privately owned
CastleBaumgartenberg-Puchberg im Machland
Außenstein Castle
Schloss Außenstein and the associated castle ruins of Außenstein are located in the district of Puchberg im Machland (Puchberg im Machlande II) in the municipality of Baumgartenberg in the district of Perg in Upper Austria (Steindl Nr. 4).
In 1294, a Ulrich von Stein auf Außenstein is first mentioned in a document. The brothers Heinrich, Hartmut, and Friedrich Fleischeß refer to this Ulrich as their uncle; they held Außenstein as a fief in 1317. In 1323, a Hartmut refers to himself as "von Stain". In 1325, the Fleischeß sold the castle to Eberhard von Kapellen. From him, Hans Kurzkopf received Stein as a fief in 1395. After the extinction of the Kapeller family, the feudal lordship passed to the Starhemberger family in 1406. From them, Veit Stettheimer, then the Susek family, and in 1480 the Stundecker family, who were related to the Stettheimer family, received Außernstein as a fief. Wolfgang Stundecker was married to Scholastica, a daughter of Veit Stettheimer. In 1535, Wolfgang Stundecker was enfeoffed with the seat of Stein by Erasmus von Starhemberg. In 1548, his son Urban succeeded him.
The last of the Stundecker family, named Christoph, was a clergyman (parish priest in Ebelsberg) and as such not eligible for a fief, so the lordship reverted to the Starhemberger family. This was followed by a rapid change of ownership: in 1557, Joachim Marschalch zu Reichenau followed, in 1559 Christoph von Oberhaim zum Pranthof. In 1560, Außenstein came to Jörg Flußhart, administrator of Rapottenstein; the Flußharts also owned Innernstein. Georg Flußhart sold Außenstein in 1590 to Erasmus Hack von Pornimb zu Tambach, who was also enfeoffed with Außenstein by the Starhembergers. Under the Hacks, Außenstein was converted into a castle. The farm (1632) also dates from the time of the Hacks von Bornimb.
In 1665, Baron Johann Christoph von Clam-Martinic acquired the castle from the brothers Georg Ferdinand, Hans Ehrenreich, and Joachim Friedrich von Pornimb; since then, Außenstein has belonged to the Clam estate. The estate administration was managed from Clam Castle, which led to the decay of Außenstein Castle. The remaining parts of the building are known as "Staindl-Moar".
Schloss Außenstein today+
Außenstein is a two-part complex: an older castle and a newer castle-like extension.
The Außenstein castle complex from the 12th century was a fortress carved out of the rock. A rock block rising from the plain was hollowed out along its entire length, and the resulting spaces were used as stables and living quarters. On the courtyard side, there are still beam holes, stairs, and passages carved out along the entire length of the rock. The superstructures erected on the rock are still partially preserved but difficult to access. A tower stands on the highest elevation of the rock; it still rises three meters today and has rounded corners instead of sharp ones. On the west side, there is a barrel vault with lamp holders embedded in the ceiling. The masonry consists of hewn ashlar stones and has projecting corbels on the outer wall.
The younger part, Schloss Außenstein, was connected to the old building on its west flank, so that it forms a side wing of the castle. The east wing has been demolished. The front castle building consists of a single-story, elongated structure, through which a gate with a Gothic arch and a machicolation above it leads into the inner courtyard. On the outer facade, there are two residential oriels, which sit on corbels. Traces of sgraffito paintings can be found on the window frames. A recessed transverse wing, which has been left to decay, adjoins the longitudinal wing. The longitudinal wing has a roof and serves a farmer as a residential and farm building. Above the gate, the openings for the chain rollers of a drawbridge are still preserved. The moat that formerly surrounded the complex is still preserved on the north side. Little remains of the impressive castle, as depicted in Georg Matthäus Vischer's engraving from 1674.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Au%C3%9Fenstein-1.jpg
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 48.2236, 14.7496