Judenhof

The Ansitz Judenhof stands in the village of March, part of the Goldegg municipality in Salzburg’s Pongau district. It was once called Judendorf and lies near old trade routes that crossed the Alps. These routes were used by Jewish merchants in the early Middle Ages to transport goods. The building later became known as Judenhof in the 17th century after the name changed. The estate was once an archiepiscopal knight’s fief, first recorded in 1429. Over the centuries, ownership passed through noble and then private hands, including the Stöckl family and later Absalom Mayrhofer. In 1619, the Salzburg court ruled it was not a free noble seat, placing it under local jurisdiction. Many owners followed, from farmers to merchants, until the 20th century. Today, Judenhof is a typical Salzburg Ansitz with a half-hipped roof and two round corner turrets. Its first floor has red-and-white shutters and wrought-iron window grilles. Inside, a vaulted ceiling survives, though much was lost in a fire in 1878. The Goldegger Stube, a carved pine-panelled room from 1606, was removed in 1883 and is now kept in Salzburg’s museum. Its rich intarsia doors, benches, and stove sit beneath a painted coffered ceiling supported by carved angel and evangelist figures.