Burg Wiener Neustadt

Burg Wiener Neustadt
Lower Austria, Austria
Theresianische Militärakademie
Type	Castle
Site information
Owner	Republic of Austria
Condition	major parts conserved
Site history
Built	13th century
Built by	Leopold VI, Duke of Austria

Burg Wiener Neustadt is a castle in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria, Austria. Burg Wiener Neustadt is 268 metres (879 ft) above sea level.

The first castle in Wiener Neustadt was built in 1193–94, when at the same time, the city walls of Wiener Neustadt were built. The costs were paid from the ransom of Richard the Lionheart. This castle is said to have stood on the north-eastern corner of the city, but there is no archaeological evidence of this.

When that castle became too small, however, the newer castle was built on the present site by Leopold VI the Glorious at the beginning of the 13th century. Since the area is quite marshy, it was built on wooden piles. Under Frederick II the Warlike it was finally surrounded by a moat, outer walls and towers.

In 1246 east of the castle the Battle of the Leitha was fought, when Frederick II was killed. A monument at Burgenland road still reminds of it. In 1260 the castle was first mentioned in documents. The wall was removed, however, under Otakar II of Bohemia already in 1253 and built up again in the late 13th Century.

During an earthquake in 1348 the castle collapsed. This led to a larger new building under Leopold III starting in 1378. On the terrace that was built over the tomb chapel of Leopold IV Peter Pusika on behalf of Duke Ernest the Iron built the Gottsleichnamkapelle (God's Body Chapel) and later, on behalf of Emperor Frederick III the St George's Chapel in the newly created West Wing. In many places of the castle the inscription “A.E.I.O.U.” can still be found, which dates back to Frederick III.

When Frederick III refused to dismiss Ladislaus the Posthumous from his guardianship, this led to creation of the Mailberg Confederation (Mailberger Bund) and a siege of the castle in 1452 by an Estates' army of 16,000. Only after negotiations Frederick dismissed his ward. Subsequently, he founded the St. George's Order and made the castle available as the Order's seat. The seat, however, was repealed in 1598.