Historic location: Hagen Castle
At the foot of the Pöstlingberg, there were already a number of farms in the Middle Ages. The “Gut im Hakken” was first mentioned in a document in 1414 at the site where the Anton Bruckner Private University stands today. The estate was owned by a number of noble families, including the powerful Lords of Wallsee for about 200 years, and was given as a fief to their followers. In 1571, Christoph Häckhl von Lustenfelden built Hagen Castle onto the old estate.
In 1609, King Matthias granted Hagen a nobleman's estate. Hagen was now endowed with a number of rights that gave the estate a similar position to the many castles and palaces in the country, which were the centers of manorial systems. In addition to the brewery, which was already in existence in the 15th century, and the fishing rights on the Danube, the castle thus acquired further privileges of a noble residence.
In 1748, the powerful noble family of Starhemberg acquired the Hagen estate. Hagen Castle and estate were only occasionally visited and occupied, administered by the custodians of other Starhemberg properties, with the brewery and farm leased out. In 1868, the Starhembergs sold Hagen Castle to the Bohemian master brewer Vinzenz Schweeger. From 1892, it was then owned by the Linz patrician family Stöger-Weingärtner. Damaged by bombs in January 1945, it was quickly restored by the Weingärtner-Falk family. In 1956, the present-day Merkur insurance company acquired the castle and grounds and immediately applied for a demolition permit. The area remained undeveloped for almost 50 years.
In 2011, the province of Upper Austria began constructing a new university building for the Anton Bruckner Private University on the former Hagen grounds, which took four years to complete. This breathed new life into the historic site.
Among the important personalities who stayed at Hagen Castle were:
- 1762 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) was a guest at the castle on October 1st
- 1825 Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
- 1848 - 1865 Adalbert Stifter (1805 - 1868) used the castle as a short-term vacation home for over 17 years
