The History of Schloss Trautenfels 1574 1904 1984–1989 2007–2010 1261 1951 1998 1460 1664 1945 1982 1992 1493–1594 1878 1983 1282 1941 1959 1994 2015 1594/1600–1652 1950 1990–1992 2006–2007 Translation: y’plus / Katharina Pils 1261 First mentioned in the records as Burg Neuhaus (castrum novum [= new castle] in the Enns Valley). Thomas Ender, Trautenfels with Grimming, watercolour/paper, around 1830 Photo: Ernst Reichenfelser 1282 Burg Neuhaus passed into the possession of the Archbishop of Salzburg by way of exchange for Burg Strechau. The castle was reconstructed after having been reconquered and destroyed in battles against the Duke of Styria at the end of the 13th century. 1460 Wolfgang Praun of the Hallinger family (= influential leaseholders of the brine boiling pans), who was appointed as pfleger (ruler of the castle), is expressly described as Herr (Lord) of Neuhaus in the records. Coat of arms of the Praun family. A red horse's head on gold. Photo: Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv (Styrian Provincial Archive) 1493–1594 The ownership of the castle passed to the Hoffmanns who were one of the most powerful and wealthy Styrian noble families as well as staunch and hugely influential supporters of the Protestant faith. Neuhaus developed into a centre of the Reformation in the Enns Valley. The castle was duly extended. Coat of arms of the Hoffmann family. Quartering with heart-shaped shield, a golden lion on blue; 1 and 4: a rising black ibex on gold; 2 and 3: a golden yarrow on red. Photo: Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv (Styrian Provincial Archive) 1574 The Hoffmanns erected an Evangelical Church that was demolished by the Reformation Commission as early as 1599. Located within 20 minutes’ walking distance towards the Grimming mountain, the foundations of the church, which were excavated in 1992, now serve as a memorial to commemorate those turbulent times. Evangelical church ruins, Neuhaus. The foundations of the church, which was destroyed by the Reformation Commission in 1599, were excavated by archaeologists in 1992, and the remains of the walls were extended and preserved. Today, the park-like memorial invites visitors to reflect and meditate under the motto "Remember, but forgive". Photo: Wolfgang Otte 1594/1600–1652 The Protestant Praunfalk family was initially holder of pledge and later owner of Neuhaus before going into exile to Nuremberg on religious grounds. Coat of arms of the Praunfalk family. Quartering; 1 and 4: a growing, blue-clad armoured arm, holding three rooted golden shamrocks on silver; 2 and 3: three growing green shamrocks on green trefoil on blue. Photo: Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv (Styrian Provincial Archive) 1594/1600–1652 The Protestant Praunfalk family was initially holder of pledge and later owner of Neuhaus before going into exile to Nuremberg on religious grounds. Matthäus Merian, Neuhaus in the Enns Valley, copperplate engraving, 1649 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1664 Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff acquired the building, converted and refurbished it, naming it Trautenfels. Carpoforo Tencalla painted the high-quality frescoes on the second floor and in the castle’s chapel around 1670, while Alessandro Sereni created the stuccos. The Trauttmansdorffs owned the castle until 1815. Coat of arms of Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff in the Marble Hall. Quartering with heart-shaped shield split into a red and silver half divided by a two-coloured six-petalled rose. 1: three silver slanting bars on red; 2 and 3: in columns, three adjoining red triangles on silver; 4 half split and divided between red, silver and gold. Photo: Ernst Reichenfelser 1664 Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff acquired the building, converted and refurbished it, naming it Trautenfels. Carpoforo Tencalla painted the high-quality frescoes on the second floor and in the castle’s chapel around 1670, while Alessandro Sereni created the stuccos. The Trauttmansdorffs owned the castle until 1815. Marble Hall. Ceiling and frieze zone with frescoes by Carpoforo Tencalla Photo: Ernst Reichenfelser 1664 Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff acquired the building, converted and refurbished it, naming it Trautenfels. Carpoforo Tencalla painted the high-quality frescoes on the second floor and in the castle’s chapel around 1670, while Alessandro Sereni created the stuccos. The Trauttmansdorffs owned the castle until 1815. Georg Matthäus Vischer, Trautenfels, copperplate engraving, 1681 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1664 Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff acquired the building, converted and refurbished it, naming it Trautenfels. Carpoforo Tencalla painted the high-quality frescoes on the second floor and in the castle’s chapel around 1670, while Alessandro Sereni created the stuccos. The Trauttmansdorffs owned the castle until 1815. Matthäus Loder, Trautenfels with Grimming – Archduke Johann with his bride watercolour/paper, n.d. Photo: Private property, col. EHJ 1878 Count Josef Lamberg finally bought the property after the castle had changed hands several times. His wife Anna’s dowry, daughter of Steyr-based armaments manufacturer Josef Werndl, together with his own fortune, enabled him to renovate the rather neglected castle and furnish it comfortably. Coat of arms of the Lamberg family. Quartering with heart-shaped shield, a red ladder with two dogs on gold; 1 and 4: split, divided in the front three times with silver and blue; 2 and 3: a black hound with a gold collar on gold. Photo: Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv (Styrian Provincial Archive) 1878 Count Josef Lamberg finally bought the property after the castle had changed hands several times. His wife Anna’s dowry, daughter of Steyr-based armaments manufacturer Josef Werndl, together with his own fortune, enabled him to renovate the rather neglected castle and furnish it comfortably. Schloss Trautenfels with Grimming, around 1872. The oldest known photograph of Schloss Trautenfels from the time of railway construction through the Enns Valley (1872-1875). In the foreground, a storage place for railway sleepers. Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1878 Count Josef Lamberg finally bought the property after the castle had changed hands several times. His wife Anna’s dowry, daughter of Steyr-based armaments manufacturer Josef Werndl, together with his own fortune, enabled him to renovate the rather neglected castle and furnish it comfortably. Wedding picture. Josef Graf Lamberg with his wife Anna Werndl Steyr, 1880 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1878 Count Josef Lamberg finally bought the property after the castle had changed hands several times. His wife Anna’s dowry, daughter of Steyr-based armaments manufacturer Josef Werndl, together with his own fortune, enabled him to renovate the rather neglected castle and furnish it comfortably. Schloss Trautenfels, Marble Hall, 1901 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1878 Count Josef Lamberg finally bought the property after the castle had changed hands several times. His wife Anna’s dowry, daughter of Steyr-based armaments manufacturer Josef Werndl, together with his own fortune, enabled him to renovate the rather neglected castle and furnish it comfortably. Schloss Trautenfels, large atrium with hunting-lodge furniture, 1901 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1878 Count Josef Lamberg finally bought the property after the castle had changed hands several times. His wife Anna’s dowry, daughter of Steyr-based armaments manufacturer Josef Werndl, together with his own fortune, enabled him to renovate the rather neglected castle and furnish it comfortably. Antler room on the third floor, Schloss Trautenfels, 1908 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1904 After the Count’s death, his widow Countess Anna Lamberg-Werndl managed the estate. During the interwar years, however, growing economic problems began to severely affect the castle’s proper maintenance. Schloss Trautenfels, around 1920 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels 1941 With the help of her four adult children, Countess Anna Lamberg-Werndl sold the castle to German Reichspost. Due to the war however, the planned training centre for executive staff, including the international centre for communications engineering and the European Post Association were never realised. 1945 After the collapse of National-Socialist rule, the British Occupation Forces in Austria ran the German- owned building. During the first post-war years, the castle served additionally as temporary accommodation for up to 300 refugees. Subsequently, the Republic of Austria became owner of the building complex. 1950 The Styrian Youth Hostel Association moved into the castle, using the rooms on the ground floor, intermediate floor and third floor. Guests of the youth hostel in the front courtyard, 1970 Photo: Karl Haiding 1951 The Province of Styria rented the representation rooms on the first floor of the building and commissioned Karl Haiding to develop a museum for the District of Liezen. Prior to special exhibitions, he collected objects and documentation on the topics of beekeeping and gingerbread making, forestry and timber and Alpine pasture farming in Styria. Karl Haiding collecting museum objects, Pichl Kainisch, 1957 Photo: Archive of Schloss Trautenfels Haiding, Karl (1906-1985); during the Nazi era, the Folkloristics expert held a high post, amongst others, in the Amt Rosenberg. Cf. Mindler Ursula, “…although I hadn’t made any concessions at all and my colleagues must have been aware of my pan-German attitude…” Notes on Karl Haiding (1906-1985). In: Österreichische