Page 150 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

148  A USTRIA REGION B Y REGION

i Amstetten
Road map E3. * 23,000. £ @
n Tel (07472) 601 454.
A major transport hub, the town
of Amstetten is situated on the
Ybbs River near the border with
Upper Austria. Originally known
as Amistein, the town witnessed
the arrival of Illyrian, Celts and
Roman settlers over time. It is the
largest town in the Mostviertel
region and boasts an attractive
town hall, the 15th-century
parish church of St Stephen Attractive houses and onion-domed spires
with frescoes depicting the Last in Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Judgement, and the Gothic
church of St Agatha. The shaped Waidhofen’s history
Mostviertler Bauernmuseum, and offers state-of-the-art
Figure decorating an elevation of set in a former farmhouse, interactive exhibits.
Schallaburg Castle covers traditional country life.
E 5e Museum
u Schloss E Mostviertler Bauernmuseum Oberer Stadtplatz 32. Tel (07442) 511
Schallaburg Gigerreith 39. Tel (07479) 73 34-1. 255. Open 10am–5pm daily. &
Open call ahead. & 8 ∑ 5e-waidhofen.at
Road map F3. @ Tel (02754) 6317-0.
Open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm Environs: Some 6 km (4 miles) Environs: The Carthusian
Sat, Sun, public holidays. & - 7
∑ schallaburg.at southwest of the town is the Marienthron Monastery in
medieval Burg Ulmerfeld, first Gaming, the most important
recorded in the 10th century. structure of its kind in Central
Schallaburg Castle counts as one From the 14th century until Europe, was founded in 1332
of the most beautiful Renaissance 1803, the castle belonged to by Prince Albrecht II. The monks’
castles in Lower Austria. It has the bishops of Freising. Later cells and the fortified walls with
some early remains of medieval transformed into a papermill, it is round turrets remain to this day.
Romanesque and Gothic archi tec- now an important cultural centre Its Baroque library has frescoes
ture, but these are over shadowed and has a collection of arms. by the Prague painter Wenzel
by later additions. Particularly Lorenz Reiner, his only work
impressive are the Renaissance o Waidhofen an on display outside his Czech
courtyard and the two-storey home land. Today, the monastery
red-and-white terracotta arcades der Ybbs is used as a venue for cultural
by Jakob Bernecker. Carved Road map E3. * 11,000. £ @ events. Containing one of the
terracotta atlantes support the Tel (07442) 511255. ∑ waidhofen.at best Austrian concert halls, it is
second-storey arcades; sculp tures much-liked by pianists, and the
and terracotta masks decorate In the 16th century, this little annual Chopin Festival is held at
the lower niches and walls of the town in the Ybbs valley was an Marienthron in late summer.
castle. One of the best of these is important centre of iron The town also has an
the mask of a court jester holding processing and arms produc- interesting Baroque church,
a wand. Wilhelm von Losenstein, tion. Its medieval old town is several early buildings, a St
who owned the castle when the dominated by church spires and Mary’s Column and a pillory.
arcades were created, was a two towers, remains of the
Protestant and a Humanist, a fact medieval fortifications. The
that is reflected in the works 13th-century Ybbsturm
commissioned by him. and the Stadtturm were
At the end of World War II, the raised by 50 m (164 ft) in
castle was totally destroyed by 1534 to celebrate the
the Russians, and it was not until town’s victory over the
1970, when it came into state Turks. Since then, the clock
admin istration, that work began on its north side on
to return it to its former glory. Stadtturm has shown
Today, Schallaburg houses 11:45am, the hour of
Lower Austria’s Cultural and victory. The city’s 5e
Educational Centre, and serves Museum in Rothschild
as a venue for excellent Castle focuses on the The Marienthron Monastery in Gaming, seen from
exhibitions and lectures. elements that have the Prelates’ Courtyard
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p295 and pp316–18

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