Mautern Castle

In the second half of the first century AD, the important Roman settlement of Favianis was located in the area of present-day Mautern. It was first mentioned as a toll station in 899. At that time, there was a castle here, which belonged to Margrave Isanrich and was conquered by King Arnulf. From the end of the 10th century until 1710, Mautern was under the bishops of Passau. The castle was the seat of the respective administrator of the lordship, who was later called captain. It also had to control traffic over Austria's second oldest Danube bridge, which crosses the river directly in front of the castle. The current complex dates from various construction periods. Bishop Wolfgang Graf Salm, a son of the defender of Vienna during the Turkish siege of 1529, had the south wing renovated in 1551. In the 17th century, the Passau captain Friedrich Karl Josef Freiherr von Caretto erected the west wing. A commemorative plaque on the stair tower of the courtyard from 1680 refers to the Passau councilor and episcopal administrator Ferdinand Graf Egmont, a descendant of Count Lamoral von Egmont, who was executed in Brussels in 1568. In 1710, the Passau bishops sold the lordship and town of Mautern with the castle to the Counts of Schönborn. In 1831, the important botanist Anton Kerner von Marilaun was born as the son of the castle administrator. In the later 19th century, the interior of the castle was divided into apartments. Since 1916, the building has belonged to the municipality of Mautern. It is still predominantly inhabited by tenants. The last major restoration took place in 1981.

The castle is located in the northwest corner of the former city fortifications. Four equally high building wings enclose a rectangular inner courtyard, in the middle of which stands a huge plane tree. Three wings are three-story. Only the south wing is single-story, but it has higher, partly vaulted rooms. Here is also the large round-arched entrance gate. A marble plaque shows the coat of arms of Bishop Wolfgang Graf Salm and a building inscription from 1551. Some courtyard-side windows on the upper floor of this wing feature high-quality stone frames and window crosses from the 16th century. In the eastern part of the south wing is the three-bay castle chapel. Its rectangular choir end projects from the east front. It shows a Gothic ribbed vault. It was already mentioned as St. Andrew's Chapel in 1306. In 1620 it was re-furnished, but has long since been deconsecrated. In recent years, the existing residential units here have been dissolved and an attempt has been made to restore the chapel to its former appearance. Its altar is now in the museum of the city of Krems. The east wing is still medieval in its core. It also shows richly profiled late Gothic windows on the upper floor. However, the stone crosses are no longer preserved. Its ground floor houses some high vaulted rooms. In the corner between the east and south wings, a stair tower with a late Gothic spiral staircase is attached in the courtyard. The mighty north wing in its current form dates from the 18th century, but building remains from the 15th century and foundations from the 11th century indicate that it is actually the oldest part of the castle. It is a hall-like building approximately 25 x 12 m in size with a tower-like annex to the west. The nine-axis show facade faces the Danube. Its facade is decorated in late Baroque style with various window pediments. Wrought-iron window baskets hang in front of the ground floor windows. The two slender three-story corner towers recede significantly behind the facade. On the courtyard side of the north wing, two – now wood-covered – open staircases are built in front. A sundial painted as a fresco is marked "1721". West of the castle are the former farm buildings, which today house the Roman Hall and a small museum.