Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 2/Sketches in Styria - Part 2

by Countess Stuart D'Albany

SKETCHES IN STYRIA. By C. E.

(Concluded from p. 285.)

 

The early history of the Château of Ehrenhausen, like that of many others, is lost in antiquity. In 1400, however, we find that the Countess Tugga repaired the outer defences of the castle; at a later period it came into the possession of the princely family of Eggenberg, which played a conspicuous part in the glories of their country, two of the last princes, one Wolfgang, a general, and the other Rupricht, Ban of Croatia, and an admiral, are buried in a beautiful mausoleum on the west-side of the castle-hill, as shown in the sketch. The admiral was buried there in 1662. The interior of this building forms an interesting little chapel, in the Italian style, of the 17th century; on each side of the altar on the walls of the chapel are two very good full-length portraits of the above named princes in the costume of their several periods. The entrance to the mausoleum is guarded by two colossal figures in armour, each cut out of a single block of stone eighteen feet in height, raised upon pedestals, upon which are sculptured bas reliefs in white marble, representing the principal actions—by land and sea—of the two princes.

When the family of Eggenberg became extinct, Ehrenhausen passed into the family of Leslie, by a marriage of a co-heiress of the last prince with Anton, Count Leslie. The family of Leslie, which had become very powerful and illustrious in Austria, is descended from the noble family of Leslie—Barons of Balquhain, in Scotland—and had risen by their military talents, and other services, to the highest ranks of command in the Austrian service, and were created counts of the empire. By a similar marriage, as that we have recorded above, Ehrenhausen was transferred by dot to the family of Attems, counts of the empire, one of whom, Count Francis Constant Attems, married Marie-Anne Rosalia, daughter of Charles Cajetan, Count Leslie. The family of Attems is descended from, and connected with, some of the first princely houses, and noble families in the empire—namely, Eggenberg, Dittrichstein, Liechtenstein, Stabenberg and Trautmansdorf; and, through the Leslies, with a great number of the first nobility in Scotland, some of whom are descended by marriage from the royal family of Stuart. Trees of these descents drawn out for the Counts Leslie by the Lyon Office, in Scotland, are now in the possession of Count William Attems of Spielfeld, the head of this branch of the family of Attems.

The château itself is very interesting: it is surrounded by a dry moat on three sides, and protected to the north by the steep face of the rock which descends nearly perpendicularly to the river. In addition to this, there has been constructed, at a later period, a curtained outwork, entirely enclosing the castle, and flanked at the four angles with as many bastions, according to the usual method of defence, after the introduction of fire-arms. The original entrance to the castle was by a drawbridge over the dry moat; but at present the access is by a stone-bridge which leads to an archway under the west-front: in the centre, on the right, is the great stair, ascending to the first story, in which are situated the principal rooms. On passing through the arch, we enter the vast court of the castle; this court is still lighted in the primitive manner of the old castles and houses of the middle ages. A huge half-spherical iron cradle is suspended at the extremity of a rod of the same metal projecting from the wall, and furnished with several joints which allow of its being drawn in, or extended at pleasure to the distance of eight or ten feet over the court, and is placed on a level with the corridor of the second story which surrounds the court, and which is supported on pillars of Saxon style remarkable for their solidity and simplicity. The cradle is furnished with “kien-holz” or “bog-wood,” which is still used in the highlands of Scotland and Ireland. It is that resinous part of the pine-wood which is found most abundant in the base and root of all the pine species, but especially in that of the spruce-fir. When the cradle is ignited, and is extended to the full extent of the rod, the blaze throws over the whole court the light of day; a “retainer” is in constant attendance to see that a proper supply of kien-holz^[1] is given to feed the light. In the same manner the great kitchen of the castle is lighted in the centre by a tall moveable tripod candelabra, also of iron, about six feet high. The top of the stem is furnished with a pair of spring pincers, which holds between its teeth a large splinter of the same resinous wood, and when ignited gives a blaze of light over the whole space around. When this is burned down to the teeth, which takes some time, another piece is supplied from a vast heap of material which is kept for that purpose in a niche of the huge kitchen.

Chamber in the Castle of Ehrenhausen.

There are two open corridors which run round the court, one to each storey, supported on pillars such as we have described, and which lead to the different apartments within the quadrangle of the building, one of which, however—that on the north, from which the principal apartments are approached—is closed between the pillars with glass, and heated in winter, forming a most agreeable promenade in cold or wet weather, the corridor being at least a hundred feet in length.

But one of the most interesting objects in the interior of the château is a chamber which commands a beautiful view over the woody hills, and which retains more than any of the rest the primitive characteristics of the building: the walls are boisé or wainscotted with oak, and the ceiling is traversed in both directions with massive chamfered beams of the same wood, the compartments between which are painted partly with designs from the actions of the two celebrated Princes of Eggenberg mentioned above; while in the lesser divisions appear the famous battle charger of Prince Wolfgang, and the antique galleys of the Admiral Prince Rupricht. The walls are hung with portraits of various Princes and Princesses of Eggenberg, and of their successors, the Leslies: among the latter there is one very interesting, a full-length, in the costume of his period, the middle of the last century; he is very young, and holds in his hand a scroll. At the foot of the picture is the following inscription, alluding to the scroll:

Petition for Antonius Leslie, second son of Charles Cajetan, Count Leslie, the grandson and lineal heir male of Patrick Leslie of Balquhain, the Tailzier, Antonius Josefus S.M.F. Comes de Leslie et Baro de Balquhain. Natus xix. Feb. anno 1734.

The furniture of the apartment is in keeping with the period; the tables, chairs, and wardrobes are of oak, and of antique forms, and rugs of bears’ and deers’ skins cover the floor.

View from Felsenberg of the Castle of Ehrenhausen, with Brunsee, Weinberg, and Gleichenberg in the distance.

From this princely residence we have made some delightful and interesting excursions among the woody mountains and valleys in the neighbourhood. The inhabitants of these luxuriant hills are animated with the most genuine spirit of hospitality and kindness: a great part of them are proprietors, possessing a considerable extent of forest and vineyards, and agricultural lands in the valleys: they possess too that genuine character of frankness and independence, hospitality and liveliness, which is the type of the aboriginal race of a mountain land.

One day, Count Heinric Attems, the Lord of Ehrenhausen, proposed to make an excursion to the top of Felsenberg, the highest hill in the neighbourhood, and we set out after luncheon, accompanied by our host and his brother, Count William Attems of Spielfeld, and their families also. We made a circuit of some miles among the delicious valleys, and finally visited Felsberg, the residence of a rural proprietor, Herr Genser, which is situated on the crown of the hill from which it takes its name. It is surrounded by the forest, and clothed with vineyards and fruit trees to its summit. On arriving at the house, we found our host waiting to receive us in a “Lusthaus,” or pavilion, in front of the dwelling, and perched on the edge of the steep green slope which descended to the valley on the east: here we found prepared a sumptuous collation, the table groaning with venison, capons, turkeys, hams, tongues, and salamy,^[2] garnished with a profusion of every description of fruit, besides whole hampers of grapes, and “grey-beards” of wine, each containing three to four bottles, all the production of the property of our “old man of the mountain.” Nor was our hospitable entertainer insensible to the fine arts. On entering the principal room of his abode, we found it entirely surrounded with a variety of interesting objects and antique arms, while the walls were covered with old portraits in their original frames,—not, it is true, all of his own ancestors, but at various periods of his long life of seventy-two years, purchased at the sales which had occurred in the châteaux of the surrounding country; the greatest number of which had once belonged to the old family of Spielfeld, now, we believe, extinct, and which property, with the castle, was purchased, first by the Duchesse de Berri, and from her by the late Count Anton Attems of Ehrenhausen, Obergamlitz, and Spielfeld, &c., &c.

During our rural repast we were entertained by music, provided by our host, the performers being his own domestics. From our lofty position we enjoyed on every side the most extensive and beautiful views; to the south, west, and north, arose hills of every form that can be found in an Alpine country, clothed in wood to their summits, and at their bases surrounded by vineyards, orchards, and rich cultivation teeming with the luxuriance of the vintage season: to the east stretched the extensive plain already mentioned, which lies between the river Mur, which flows at the base of the rock of Ehrenhausen, to the mountains of Gleichenberg, Cogelberg, &c.; in the midst of this wide expanse, rising out of a mass of wood, shine the white walls of Brunsee, and farther still those of Weinberg, the residences of the exiled family of France. But, above all attractions, rises, towering on its woody hill, Ehrenhausen, the hospitable château of our noble host, Count Heinric Attems.

The sun had begun to shed its last golden beams on the summits of the western mountains, and it was time to bid adieu, however reluctantly, to our truly highland host; but we were not to part so hastily. Bumper after bumper was filled to the health of Count Attems, and his numerous party—for he would not omit one—and at last it became our duty to return the compliment by drinking the “parting cup” to the health of our patriarchal entertainer; but even in this we could not limit the bounty of our host, who insisted that his health should be drunk in a full bumper from the “guid-man’s glass,” which proved to be a huge “bocal,”^[3] containing at least a quart. This having been punctually fulfilled by all the gentlemen, and the goblet, according to custom, reversed on the table by each in succession, we descended the mountain to the carriages, six in number, which awaited our return down in the valley far below.

We only reached the avenue of old chesnuts which leads up the steep approach to the château of Ehrenhausen, when the broad full moon, “round as the shield of my fathers,” rose over the eastern plain in a flood of silver light, strongly contrasting with the red gleam which illuminated the windows of the castle and the conservatory, the last of which has been built by the present Count, with much taste from a design of his own. Upon entering, we found supper prepared, and the evening passed with songs of Styrian bards, accompanied on the zither^[4] by the Count and his amiable lady with the most touching feeling and perfect execution.

It was with deep regret that, after a week’s séjour in this interesting abode, we bade adieu to its noble and hospitable owners, and early the following morning we were flying back with railroad speed towards the majestic Semmering, en route for the capital of Austria.

 

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1. “Kien-holz” signifies, literally, “resinous wood.”
2. Sausages of a foot long, and two to three inches thick.
3. The “bocal” is an upright chalice. It was the ordinary drinking-cup of all Europe in the early and middle ages, and retained until a recent period among the Germans and their neighbours. Of old, those for ordinary use were of “latten” (i.e., pewter), and those of noble tables of silver, or “vermeil,” sometimes, among the most wealthy, studded with jewels. After the popular introduction of glass, they were made of that material, and splendid examples are to be found in some of the old and noble mansions. They were generally richly engraved with the armorial bearings of their owners, and frequently closed by a cover also beautifully ornamented.
4. An ancient instrument once among the most popular throughout Europe, the last tradition of which lingered in the highlands of Scotland under the name of the Cruit, of which the Crwth of Wales was only a variety.