Sagas/Tales

The treasure in the Dobra ruin
According to the legend there is a treasure buried in Dobra. The devil guards the gold and counts it from time to time with a terrible howl. This gold can be lifted. But this can only be done by a man whose cradle was made from the trunk of a pine tree that grew on top of the keep. The devil therefore uprooted the tree, and now one must wait until a pine tree has grown there again.

The trick
In 1645 the Swedes are said to have besieged Dobra Castle. According to the legend, the crew resorted to a ruse to make the besiegers leave. When there was only one piece of cattle left, they made the animal roar loudly by pinching it with red-hot tongs, then slaughtered it and threw the pieces of meat among the besiegers. The Swedes therefore thought that there were still rich supplies in the castle and left without having achieved anything.

The walled-in man at Dorba Castle
At that time, when knights still lived in the castles, a nobleman lived in Steinegg, who had a son. On Stallegg, on the other hand, a daughter was born to the lord of the castle. Squire and damsel grew up to the delight of their parents and distinguished themselves from all the other children of the area partly by grace and loveliness, partly by strength and bravery. The two young human children liked to see each other and great was their sorrow when they had to separate for a long time. This was necessary, however, because the squire was sent by his father to a great castle, where he was to learn the craft of arms and acquire and acquire fine courtly manners. When he returned home years later, he had become a handsome knight. His first way was to the playmate of his youth. But what heartache he felt when he had to welcome her as the wife of the old lord of Dobra Castle. However, life's fate could not be changed and he consoled himself by the fact that he was often allowed to come to the honorable knight's wife at Dobra Castle, because even she could not forget the blissful youth at his side. But the old curmudgeon, the lord of Dobra, did not like this at all and one day he had his servants seize his wife's guest and wall him up alive in a windowless room of the castle. His wife, however, was chased from the castle as a shaven-headed dishonored woman. Thus the two once hopeful human children from the battle castles had been plunged into great suffering by their love for each other.
From Kißling's "Frau Saga" 8th series, page 89 no. 133.

The restoration of the ruin by the "Pölla Aktiv" association

The association "Pölla Aktiv" leased the ruin Dobra from the Windhag Stipendienstiftung in 1996 in order to make it accessible to the public again and to create an attractive visitor destination by using the keep as a lookout tower.
The work had to be carried out carefully so as not to destroy the character of the ruins and still ensure the safety necessary for visitors. A particularly sensitive task was the installation of the staircase in the keep. The aim was to keep the encroachment on the existing building fabric as low as possible, to make do with the small opening in the ceiling, to preserve the spatial effect when entering the keep and, in accordance with the Venice Charter, to make new things clearly recognizable as such. For this reason, and in order to be able to build a delicate staircase, galvanized iron was used as the material. By running the staircase on only two walls and the fact that the majority of the staircase is above the entrance and therefore not visible when entering, it was possible to preserve the spatial effect. To make do with the small opening in the ceiling, a spiral staircase was chosen for the ceiling passage. Since this staircase cannot be used in both directions at the same time, a gallery was built at its beginning. The remains of the original battlement were incorporated into the viewing level and ensure a good panoramic view of the charming forest and lake landscape.
The design of the staircase was drawn up by Dr. Reidinger. The very successful execution was carried out by the locksmith's shop Lehenbauer from Zwettl. A particular difficulty in the execution was that, due to the local conditions, it was necessary to dispense with aids that are taken for granted today, such as the use of a crane.

Award for exemplary construction

In the fall of 2002, we received the awards for exemplary buildings in Lower Austria for the installation of the staircase. Dr. Reidinger as planner, the chairman Bgm. Müllner as well as board member Karl Baier accepted the award with joy.

Since the keep was opened to the public in 2000, the renovation work has continued apace. While the work in the first phase focused on the highest structure of the ruin - the keep - the next phase of restoration concentrated on the cellar of the Dobra ruin. With the support of numerous volunteers, three interconnected cellars were uncovered. The largest cellar with a length of 17 m and a width of 7 m is also suitable as an event room.

A special challenge was the renovation of the up to 10 m high western outer wall, which had to be partially renewed due to the poor condition of the building. With the completion of this construction stage, the keep, the cellar rooms and the first castle courtyard are open to the public. In the area of this courtyard there are well-preserved window cornices with ornamented house stone cladding, which still show something of the former beauty of this building.

In the course of the third stage, further areas of ruins as well as the second keep were renovated and the bridge between the main and outer castle was rebuilt. The draft plan for the bridge was drawn by the architecture department of the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments. On the basis of this design, the Retter company drew up a submission plan and calculated the statics. After the construction negotiations and approval by the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments, the bridge was erected by our workers with the active help of bridge master Ernst Rauscher. The wood for the bridge was provided free of charge by the Windhag Stipendienstiftung - many thanks for this.

The last stage for the time being was the construction of an event room (17 m x 7 m) with kitchen and sanitary facilities in the northeastern part of the ruin. The very appealing design was kindly provided by Dr. Sima and Ms. DI Hoche-Donaubauer from the Architecture Department of the Federal Monuments Office. The plan drawn on the basis of this design was implemented by the company Hartl Haus in spring 2009 after the official approvals. With expert advice from the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments (selection of materials and colors for the sanitary area, the windows, etc.), the interior work was carried out. In the adjoining ruin area a terrace was built and the outer wall was restored as a fall protection. The work was completed at the end of April 2010.

So far, volunteers have contributed about. 8000 unpaid working hours. About € 800.000,- have been invested for the renovation. We received support from the Department of Culture of the Province of Lower Austria, the Federal Monuments Office, the Village and Urban Renewal, Eco Plus and the market town of Pölla. A considerable part of the funds was raised by the association.

With the opening of the Quarter Festival, on May 7, 2010, by Governor Dr. Erwin Pröll in the ruins of Dobra, the new rooms were officially put into operation.

Pölla Aktiv

Pölla Aktiv, association for the preservation of the ruins of Dobra, promotion of tourism and village renewal, is the full name of the association.
The association was founded with the general assembly held in October 1993.
The aim of the association is the promotion of the social, economic and cultural upward development in the municipality of Pölla, especially through the promotion of tourism and village renewal.
As a first concrete measure, the association supported the construction of an inn in Franzen and participated in the celebration of "700 years of Franzen".
The next project was the assistance in the construction of a shed next to the inn in Franzen. Subsequently, half of the shed was leased from the municipality for the establishment of a bicycle rental service, and eight new city bikes and 10 used bikes were purchased from ÖBB.
A footpath was built around the pond in Franzen and hiking trails were marked in the municipal area. Since its foundation, the association has organized a Gschnas on Carnival Saturday. This event is very popular with young and old. Since its existence, "Pölla Aktiv" has also been the village renewal association of Franzen.
In 2003 "Pölla Aktiv" became the village renewal association for Wetzlas and Schmerbach. The first big goal was the construction of an asphalt stick shooting range in Schmerbach. In summer 2004 this went into operation.

With the lease of the ruin Dobra in 1996, the ruin restoration became the main focus of work.
In 2000 the first stage of construction was completed. We celebrated the opening of the keep as a lookout point with a knights' festival.
In 2002, the cellar world of the Dobra ruins was opened to visitors. In the course of the third stage, further ruin areas as well as the second keep were renovated and the bridge between the main and outer castle was rebuilt.
The last stage for the time being is the construction of an event room with kitchen and sanitary facilities in the northeastern part of the ruin. The function room can accommodate about 100 people and can be rented for celebrations and events.
Visit Ruin Dobra with friends and guests, there are always interesting things to see.
We gratefully accept donations to support our preservation efforts.

History

The castle Dobra was the ancestral seat or at least the ancestral seat of a branch of the ministerial family of the Lords of Dobra, about whom numerous documents give information from the 12th century on.

The name Dobra is of South Slavic origin and comes from dobov = forest, oak forest. Since South Slavic names are very rare in the Waldviertel, it is not excluded that the ancestral seat of this family was near St. Peter in der Au and that from here a branch of it moved to the Waldviertel, built the castle Dobra and made it the center of its property; in the 12th century we find the lords of Dobra already in both mentioned areas.

In 1186 the first known member of this family, HERTNIT von Dobra, appears as a witness of a settlement of Count Heinrich von Playen u. Hardegg with the Bishop Diepold von Passau about fiefs of Leutaker (near Pulkau).
In 1278 Otto of Dürnstein is enfeoffed with the fortress of Dobra as a servant of Heinrich the Elder of Kuenring on Weitra.

1329 Arnold of Dobra, with the consent of his feudal lord Albero of Kuenring, sells half the house of Dobra with all rights to his uncle Simon of Sitzendorf for 235 pounds.

1342 Johann II. of Kuenring inherits the castle Dobra after Albero VII.

In 1408 the House of Dobra am Kamp falls to the House of Liechtenstein in the inheritance dispute between Achaz of Kuenring and his brother-in-law Johann II of Liechtenstein- Nikolsburg.

1464 Wilhelm von Missingdorf, a scion of the old and respected Hardegg nobility, is lord of Dobra.

In 1513 the family of Missingdorf dies out with Mr. Hans von Missingdorf on Dobra.

1533 on 7.6. King Ferdinand I. enfeoffs his field captain Baron Nikolaus von Rauber in man's inheritance with Dobra.

1564 on 17.11. Sebastian von Windisch- Grätz becomes owner of Dobra by enfeoffment. (This enfeoffment was made by King Maximilian II. after the death of Baron Wolf Dietrich von Rauber, because Sebastian von Windisch-Grätz had to claim significant sums of money for the fortress).

In 1639 Baron Jakob von Kuefstein buys Dobra Castle from the Hutstocker heirs.

In 1645 the Swedes are said to have besieged Dobra Castle. According to the legend, the crew resorted to a ruse to make the besiegers leave. When there was only one piece of cattle left, they made the animal roar loudly by pinching it with red-hot tongs, then slaughtered it and threw the pieces of meat among the besiegers. The Swedes therefore thought that there were still rich supplies in the castle and left without having achieved anything.

In 1696 the lords of Idolsberg and Dobra settle disputes about Tiefenbach subjects.

In 1699, after the death of childless Anna Maria von Megier, Emperor Leopold I sold Dobra Castle and dominion to Baron Johann Reichardt Schäffer for 14,216 Pf.57 Kr. and allowed him to rebuild the castle in a more convenient place of the fiefdom.

In 1715 Baron Johann Philipp von Ehrmanns inherited Dobra Castle and Lordship from a cousin Johann Reichardt Schäffer. He also owned the dominions of Wetzlas and Tiefenbach, united Dobra with that of Wetzlas, to which later also the dominions of Krumau and Waldreichs were added. He died in 1729 in Orsova as the commander of this border fortress.

In 1720 Baron Ignaz Philipp von Ehrmanns zum Schlug, in accordance with the imperial permission of 1699, builds the Meierhof Wetzlas into a chateau.

In 1725, after moving from Dobra to Wetzlas, the castle began to decay. Stone material was used to build small houses below the castle and to extend the church in Franzen.

1958 The Windhag` sche Stipendienstiftung becomes the owner of the Dobra ruin.

Since 1996 the association Pölla Aktiv has leased the ruin.

Sources: The Old Homeland; Dehio Handbook