Kreuzenstein. the medieval castle as a construct of modernity

The topic of this study is Kreuzenstein Castle near Korneuburg, Lower Austria. The monumental structure was built between 1874 and 1906 on the ruins of a medieval fortress destroyed during the Thirty Years` war. At the behest of Johann Nepomuk Count Wilczek (1837-1922), the castle was built according to his own design, as well as the plans of two architects, Carl Gangolf Kayser (1837-1895) and Humbert Walcher von Molthein (1865-1926). Kreuzenstein was conceived as a family mausoleum and venue for preserving and displaying the owner`s rich collection of medieval art and cultural artifacts, but it can also be interpreted as the idealized vision of a medieval castle from the perspective of the 19th century. In contrast to other contemporary castle building projects, Kreuzenstein is by and large a completely new construction. A further characteristic of the castle is the extensive use of medieval spoils collected from a variety of European countries, which are intended to lend the structure a sense of historical authenticity through the repurposing of genuine medieval materials. The technique of creating a new and unified whole through the combining of fragments and individual objects of a heterogeneous origin is carried on in the interior rooms of the castle, which are furnished with objects from the collection and thereby are staged as complete, authentic medieval living spaces. For the first time, the present study will extensively examine the construction of the castle, its history, architecture and interiors, placing those aspects in a larger culture- historical context. The written and visual resources will be systematically presented in order to lay the foundation for any necessary further academic reworking, particularly regarding the individual collections and their history. The first chapter outlines the culture-historical framework of perception of the Middle Ages in 19th and early 20th century German-speaking region. The second chapter will introduce the castle itself and analyze its architecture and interior decoration. Chapter three discusses the forms of presence and the functions of the spoils. In the final chapter Kreuzenstein will be positioned within the visual culture of its time through a comparison with other media. The chapter concludes with a move into present day and a glance at the note-worthy international film career of the castle. This study envisions the medieval castle as a construct of modernity, with Kreuzenstein implicitly claiming to the of epitome of "the medieval castle", a claim, which both physically and intellectually, can only be regarded as a "construct" in the modern age. In fact, the majority of castles that claim to be "authentic" or "typically" medieval are constituted as either restorations or reconstructions and therefore are characterized according to the prevailing perception of the Middle Ages at the time. This modern concept of the Middle Ages has been and will continue to be exploited to further both social and political agendas. It is comprised of a number of heterogeneous elements and the remains of earlier attributions and interpretations. For this reason, this study clarifies to what extent our view of the medieval castle is contingent on the faults, fractures and "constructs" of modernity.