Alte Burg Gmünd

These walls could tell many stories…of war and natural events, for example, of enemies attacking and their cannonballs hitting, of conflagration and collapse. The history of the Alte Burg is long: it dates back at least to Romanesque times, when Gmünd was still a “market” under the Salzburg Archbishop Friedrich. At that time – in the mid-13th century – it was a military stronghold, under whose protection the town could develop. The Alte Burg was first mentioned in a document in 1292. By 1487, it had been expanded and modernized – as one of Gmünd's landmarks, which, after receiving town rights in March 1346, developed into a thriving meeting point for representatives of trade and commerce. The angular masonry withstood many assaults, including those of the Turkish troops, who attacked the fortified town and castle in vain and eventually had to bypass them. Only the Hungarians succeeded in destroying the castle in 1487, after a seven-year siege of Gmünd. What remained after the destruction by the Magyars (the massive, thick-walled keep, for example) was incorporated into the new building by the new owner, the Salzburg Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach – this second construction period lasted from 1502 to 1506; from this time date the preserved windows with profiled serpentine frames, gates and doors with pointed and keel arches, as well as vaults with lunettes. Finally, remnants of a wall reaching from the castle to the town, once equipped with a battlement at the top – now overgrown with wild wine – have been preserved. The walls from this second construction period also had to prove their defensiveness: rebellious Salzburg farmers and miners attacked the town and castle in 1525. While the former opened after a long siege, the castle remained a rock in the surf: it did not surrender. As times changed, so did the owners and their ideas of an imposing fortification of the town in the following centuries. In the third construction period (beginning of the 17th century), Rudolf Graf von Raitenau had the extensive west wing built by his master builder Daniel Deutta. Almost a hundred years later (1690), an earthquake caused severe damage in the town; a corner of the castle collapsed. A fire (1886) finally had a devastating effect: the extensive castle complex, owned by the Counts of Lodron from 1639 to 1932, fell into disrepair. In 1950, the municipality of Gmünd bought the ruin. It would take a whole century until life stirred again in the old walls. …and today… Alte Burg Gmünd – Café-Restaurant The culinary-cultural meeting place for the whole family. Very good, affordable cuisine, delicious wines, children's menu. Covered terrace; exhibitions, concerts, theater. One of the most beautiful feel-good venues with a view of the “More”.