Burg Mauterndorf

Mauterndorf Castle (German: Burg Mauterndorf) is a castle in the municipality of Mauterndorf, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is situated at an altitude of 1,138 metres (3,734 ft).

Mautendorf Castle was probably built on the site of an old Roman fort that dates to AD 326 or earlier. The fort had protected the Roman mountain road from Teurnia via Radstädter Tauern Pass to Iuvavum (present-day Salzburg) and served as a residence for the Roman administrator in the Noricum province. The original fort was destroyed during the Migration Period.

A castle built on the site in later years was funded and supported by a toll (German: Maut) collection system for the nearby road. Evidence for this comes from a deed gift issued by Emperor Henry II in the year 1002. "Dorf" is a German suffix for village or settlement. The castle itself was not mentioned until in 1253, the time when the keep (Bergfried) was erected. Held by the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, the fortress was significantly enlarged under the rule of the archbishops Burkhard Weisbriach (1420/23–1466) and Leonhard von Keutschach (c. 1442–1519) during the 15th century, to reach the form it still has today.

The toll system on the Radtsädter Tauern Pass road supported the castle and village until 1803 when the toll collection was abandoned during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1806 the castle became a possession of the Austrian state.

In 1894 the Mautendorf Castle was purchased by Hermann Epenstein (1851–1934), a Christian of Jewish descent, who served as a Prussian Army surgeon in Berlin. He refurbished and restored the decayed castle with great effort for use as a residence. In 1908 he obtained the minor title of a Ritter von Mauternburg from the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I for his meritorious services and donation to the Crown.

During his service in German South-West Africa in the late 1880s, Epenstein had become friends with Commissioner Heinrich Ernst Göring. Back in Germany, he offered the Göring family hospitality in his residences. He became the attending physician (and only slightly hidden lover) of Göring's wife Franziska, as well as the godfather and mentor of his children. The Göring family, among them the younger sons Hermann and Albert, frequently stayed at Mauterndorf Castle as Epenstein's guests.

Text adapted from “Mauterndorf Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Burg Mauterndorf ranks #1,228 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #28 of the 200 mapped in Austria. Founded 1253, it is older than 69% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 6,749 times in the last 60 days, more than 88% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Villach, 59 km away. See how Austria compares in the castle statistics.

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