Schloss Roith

Schloss Roith stands in the village of Roith, part of Taufkirchen an der Trattnach in Upper Austria’s Grieskirchen district. The site first appears in records in 1110 as a place called Rute. By 1380 it had become a fortified house owned by the prince and held as a fief. The Jörger family gained control in the 15th century and later exchanged the property for Kammer on the Attersee. After passing through several noble hands—Sinzendorf, Dietrichstein, Weißenwolff—it became a Trautson dowry in 1722. The Auersperg princes held it from 1750 to 1880, followed by the Fürstenbergs and finally the Walderdorffs in 1960. The 1674 engraving by Georg Matthäus Vischer shows a three-part complex surrounded by a large pond and protected by a wall with four towers. Bridges led to the main castle and to outbuildings on islands, some guarded by gate towers. In 1620 Bavarian troops burned the castle, yet it was rebuilt. Over time the structure decayed, the pond was filled in, and most of the castle was demolished early in the 20th century. Today the only visible remnants are the old farmyard, the entrance to the former courthouse, the former forester’s house, remains of the moat and its bridges, and the supporting walls typical of a water castle. On the former castle site stands a large farm-like building now used by a doctor. The surviving walls still carry the marks of the once extensive water defences.