Burg Ruttenstein

Aerial view of Ruttenstein
Aerial view of Ruttenstein

In 1160, one historical source mentioned “castrum Rotenstein” as a Bamberg possession, but the first written mention is usually considered to be a document issued in

 

1209 by Duke Leopold. Moreover, the building itself shows that the castle was probably built in the 12th century. The castle was founded by Count Clam-Velburg, successor to the Lords of Machland. When Ulrich Clam-Velburg was killed during the 5th Crusade, the castle fell to the provincial princes.1281 the castle was pledged by Ulrich von Capellen, a provincial judge and governor of the Austrian territory over Enns (in German, ob der Enns). The Capellen lived at Ruttenstein Castle for 125 years, or until 1406.

 

The 13th and 14th centuries brought the palas, chapel, the keep, inner walls, and front wall;In the 15th century, an extensive bailey with outer wall was added with bastions and with seven inwardly opening fortification towers. 1483 the Liechtensteins were the next owners. As early as 1492, however, Christoph of Liechtenstein had to surrender the castle to the emperor without compensation, because he had taken a stance on the side of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. The castle was then acquired by Heinrich and Siegmund Prüschenk, but in1493 the Liechtenstein family bought Ruttenstein from the Prüschenk family.

 

By then, Ruttenstein was probably rarely used as a noble residence and was administered by guardians as a frontier castle until

 

1586. During wartimes, it served as a refuge.

 

1556 Ferdinand Helfrich von Meggau (owner of Greinburg) gained rights to the lien. 1615 Leonhard Helfrich von Meggau acquired Ruttenstein as an allodium. It then ceased to be a lien and from that moment shared the fate of the Greinburg estate.

 

Further owners were the Counts of Dietrichstein and the Salburgs before the estate was acquired by military contractor and mayor of Hainburg, Michael Fink.Since 1823, the ruins have owned by the Dukes of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. The village of Pierbach is the tenant of the complex, and the Ruttensteiner Erhaltungsverein association seeks to preserve the castle ruins.

 

 

Points of interest

 

Today, the ruin is largely professionally secured and managed. Parts of the collapsed residential tower are accessible with its Romanesque doors and double-glazed arched windows, pentagonal keep with its staircase in the walls, the massive fortification walls (2.3 m thick!) with seven inwardly opened fortification towers. The funnel-shaped embrasures for the cannons are also partly preserved. To visit the residential tower and chapel, you climb the stone staircase which actually served to stabilize the walls. The accessible residential tower offers spectacular panoramic views of the Mühlviertel and the foothills of the Alps. At the foot of the castle, a cottage with refreshments awaits you.

 

(Aerial views: Alexander Schneider)

Sage

Einst wurde Ruttenstein wochenlang von einem sehr starken Feind belagert. Die Burgverteidiger haben tapfer jeden Angriff abgewehrt. Ihre Lebensmittelvorräte verringerten sich jedoch, bis auch die letzten Reste erschöpft wurden. Die Keller und Speicher wurden leer. Die Menschen erlitten eine große Not. Die Burgbewohner und Burgwächter bereiteten eine List vor.  In einem kleinen Teich auf dem Burghof ist der letzte Fisch geschwommen  (es war die Aalrutte, in Österreich auch „Rutte“ genannt). Es war ein riesiger Fisch, der noch in der Friedenszeit im Fluss unten unterhalb der Burg gefangen wurde. Die Leute aus der Burg haben diese letzte Lebensmittelreserve gefangen und aus dem Teich rausgezogen. Dann sind sie mit dem Fisch auf den hohen Burgturm aufgestiegen und sie haben ihn in einem großen Bogen über die Burgmauern hinunter ins Lager der Feinde geworfen. Die haben sich wirklich betrügen lassen. Vermutend, dass die Gefangenen noch genug Vorräte haben, haben sie enttäuscht und bitter die Burgbelagerung aufgegeben und sind weggezogen. Die Leute in der Burg haben sich neue Lebensmittelvorräte angeschafft und haben eine große Feier veranstaltet. Und gerade dieser glücklichen gelungenen Rettung verdankt die Burg Ruttenstein ihren Namen.