| 737 |
It is handed down that bishop Vivilo of Lerch and the nuns accompanying him take refuge in Passau
in the year 737. Duke Odilo of Bavaria assigned them the Niederhaus
as a temporary home. However, this lore is to handle with care, as
it is part of the fable of Lorch. |
| Since 1254 |
Since the reign of prince bishop
Otto of Lonsdorf (1254-1265) and in particular under the rule of
bishop Wigiläus Fröschl (1500-1516), meetings of the parliament are
held in the Niederhaus in order to negotiate on the war taxes the
emperor is asking for. |
| 1358 |
Establishment of a lodging room
for 13 poor pilgrims in the enormous underground vault of the Niederhaus
(thickness of the walls: 4,5 meters). |
| 1367 |
While fighting the bishop, rebellious
citizens of Passau take and occupy the castle. The clergy has to flee
out of the city into the castle Oberhaus. After the rebellion was
put down, the Niederhaus and the Oberhaus were connected via a dual
defence walk. |
| 1435 |
The Niederhaus is set on fire through
a gunpowder explosion caused by carelessness. |
| Since 1444 |
Bishop Leonhard of Layming initiates
the reconstruction of the almost completely destroyed building. We
have evidence that the rebuilding is already completed in 1444, since
in this year the later Pope Pius II reports on the splendid halls
and rooms of the Niederhaus. At that time the castle, equipped with
a columned knight’s hall as well as two chapels, serves as a
safe side residence of the bishops. |
| 17th century |
Already one century later the Niederhaus
is remodelled into a prison for wayward clergymen and ‚members
of the upper class’. |
| 1762 |
Prince bishop Joseph of Thun turns
the castle into a common jail. His successor cardinal Firmian expands
the penal institution by a nine-story punishment tower. |
| Since1807 |
In the year 1805 the elector of
Bavaria joins Napoleon. Therefore the castle is used as a magazine
of war equipment and regains military importance as the ‘Danube-Barricade-Fort’.
In the course of the reinforcement of the Niederhaus the nine-story
tower is pulled down to a four-story hight as well as half of the
high eastern donjon is cleared away in order to get a line of fire
for the artillery of the fortress Oberhaus. |
| About 1815 |
The walls of the castle are extended
into the Ilz-, Donau-, Holzgarten- and Haubitzen-battery. |
| Until 1867 |
The castle keeps its capacity as
a fortress until 1867. |
| 1890 |
The historian painter Ferdinand
Wagner purchases the Niederhaus for 10000 marks on the condition that
he preserves the building in its shape as well as keeps its historical
character as a castle. |
| 1907 |
Wagner fights against the plan to
erect a suspension bridge across the Danube. Although he raises objections
to the bridge, the municipal council decides to build it. Therefore
Wagner sells the Niederhaus to the artist Eduard Strobelberger. The
castle is passed on and remains private property. The present owner,
Otto Brunner, puts the preservation of historical monuments perfectly
into practice |
