Schloss Rohrau

Schloss Rohrau is a castle in the town of Rohrau in Lower Austria, bordering on Burgenland. The building houses the art collection of the counts of Harrach.

In the 12th century, the Marquis of Cham and Vohburg held the area around Rohrau. Dietrich de Rorow was first mentioned in 1240 as living in the Haus Liechtenstein. His line died out in 1278 with Dietrich III. His daughter Diemut married Leutold I von Stadeck († 1292/95). After the death of the last Johann Stadeck in 1399, Duke Wilhelm wanted to give it to his brother Ernst dem Eisernen, but heiress Guta married Hermann II, Count of Celje and received it from King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia as a gift. In 1402, Rohrau came into the hands of Ulrich, son of Hugo von Montfort-Pfannberg, who inherited from Guta. In 1404, King Ruprecht gave the Montforts the castle and dominion, which they owned for 120 years.

The Harrach family first appeared in Südböhmen in the 13th century, later in Mühlviertel, including the wealthy Freistadt. The Harrachs owned estates in Styria and Carinthia at one time, but their main interests shifted to Vienna (see Palais Harrach) and Lower Austria.

Leonhard III von Harrach inherited the castle and in 1524, during the Counter-Reformation, his son Leonhard IV took the side of the Catholics. He was granted nobility in 1552 and, in 1584, the Order of the Golden Fleece. In 1586, he retired after 55 years of service to the court of Vienna and devoted himself to the Rohrau castle. He died in 1590 and was buried in the Augustinian Church, Vienna.

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