Located on the mountain crest  of St. Georgsberg between the Danube and the Ilz rivers, the fortress  “Veste Oberhaus” dominates the landscape of the city of Passau located opposite.  Built in 1219 by Passau’s Prince-Bishops in order to control commerce across the rivers, it was attacked five times between 1250 and 1482. The citizens of Passau rebelled against the Bishop, though Veste Oberhoaus was never conquered militarily. The Bavarians occupied the fortress in 1741, but were forced out by the Austrians who returned the fortress to the Bishop in 1745. In 1802, secularization brought an end to the rule of  the Bishop. Initially, Napoleon occupied the fortress in his struggle against Austria, but it was surrendered to the Austrian army in 1805. After the Congress of Vienna, the area was controlled by Bavaria, and for a century became a state and military prison. Today, it contains a youth hostel, a restaurant, an art gallery and a museum containing extensive exhibitions documenting the history of Passau and the art history of the surrounding area. Because of several changes to its buildings through the centuries, the castle consists of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture within its compound. Henry and I decided to visit the castle on a beautiful, sunny autumn day, hiking uphill to enjoy the foliage and the scenes of the surrounding area. It proved to be a glorious afternoon, with a pause in the castle’s courtyard restaurant for a dessert of apple strudel topped with whipped cream and served with ice cream. A tour of the museum revealed incredible information about the history of the castle, a history of salt mining, displays of armor and the history of war, plus the history of religion and the art that was inspired by it.  A walk through the art gallery exhibition of bronze sculpture also proved to be most interesting. Walking downhill at sunset was beautiful and much easier! 

PHOTOS: Top Two: 1. Veste Oberhaus and its compound of buildings sited on the crest of St. Georgsberg, as viewed from one of the fortress towers at its entrance. 2. View of Veste Obershaus as seen from the river Danube at the point where it meets the Ilz river. Middle Three: 1. Entrance to the fortified castle as seen from the bridge across a former moat. 2. Above the entrance gate to the castle compound,  a deeply carved bas relief displays the coats of arms of the Prince-Bishop. 3. A view of Veste Oberhaus depicting the fortified walls and some of the buildings.   Bottom Three: 1. A baroque tower of the castle of Oberstadt. The building is painted in golden-toned trim, some of it in tompe-l’oeil mimicking stone. 2. View from Veste Oberhaus, looking toward Ilzstadt, a town located across the river Ilz at the confluence of the river Danube. Passau is located opposite the Danube and on the river Inn to the right. 3. View of medieval machinery located in the courtyard of the fortified castle’s compound.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                   BACK TO MAP  PAGE