Ursprung Manor House: A Baroque Estate in Austria
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Austria
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Manor House
On this page10 sections
History
Ursprung Manor House is a Baroque manor in the Ursprung district of Elixhausen, Austria, rebuilt in 1707 after a fire destroyed its predecessor. Although conventionally called a castle, it is a residence rather than a fortified stronghold. In 1122, the estate was a peasant farm held under hereditary tenure, a form of landholding that could pass to heirs, and was called Hofmark Ursprung, a manorial estate whose lord held certain local rights. The name Ursprung comes from Middle or Old High German words for a source or spring, referring to the nearby source of the Mattig.
From farm to manor
On 13 September 1670, Augustin Friedrich von Hegi, a court and military councillor who served a ruler in administrative and military affairs, bought the estate, then covering about 100 hectares. He developed it into a manor, secured hunting rights and permission to serve drinks, and obtained authorization to establish a brewery.
After Hegi died in 1686, Baron Johann Friedrich von Rehlingen married his widow. A fire destroyed the earlier manor late in the seventeenth century, and Rehlingen rebuilt the residence in the form that survives. The house also included a private chapel in 1716.
Ownership and changing use
In 1773, an inheritance dispute among three brothers was settled in a reconciliation. Brewer Sigmund Hofmann bought the estate and brewery in 1823. About 90 years later, the brewery ceased operating under Josef Sigl, who also owned the brewery at Obertrum.
Paul Krennwallner bought the estate in 1930 and established a model agricultural farm; the former main residence became the owners’ home. The Republic of Austria acquired the property in 1962 and established the Higher Federal School for Agriculture Ursprung around the residence between 1965 and 1967. The house is now part of the school. At the school administration’s initiative, the brewery building was demolished in 1977.
Remains
The south-facing, three-storey manor house stands on a ridge linking the Haunsberg and Hochgitzen, nearly 170 metres above the Salzach. The position affords views of the Salzburg mountains, especially the Untersberg, and of Hohensalzburg Fortress. The building is laid out in Baroque style, with its main entrance reached by an exterior staircase that divides into two flights.
The manor house
Exterior
Above the entrance, a combined Rehlingen-Gienger family coat of arms sits beneath a baron’s crown. A marble band carries a Latin inscription. A painted Baroque sundial survives at the building’s southwest corner.
Interior
The first and second floors contained the manor’s principal rooms, while the ground floor held a bakery and servants’ chambers. Interior features include stuccoed and painted ceilings, wallpaper, floors, and stoves. The manor house needs renovation.
Chapel and brewery site
Memorial chapel
A separate chapel a short distance south of Ursprung commemorates the three brothers’ reconciliation in 1773.
Former brewery
Hegi’s earlier manor residence was incorporated into the brewery building. A parking lot now occupies the brewery’s former site.
