Porta Claudia / Scharnitz
Ruins of the former fortress on the border between Bavaria and Tyrol.
During the Thirty Years War (1618-48), the government of Innsbruck obtained permission to erect a fortress on the lands of the Freising Monastery at the narrow end of the Scharnitz valley. It was built in 1632 - 1634.
On the festive occasion of the dedication of this ravine-like valley passage, it was named after the shrewd Princess Claudia de’ Medici, who was personally present. Simultaneously, at the end of the valley at Leutasch, the so-called “Schanz” was constructed. Porta Claudia was never once attacked during the Thirty Years War. Around 1670, it was expanded following the plans of Christoph Gumpp.
In the course of the “Bavarian Uprising” of 1703, Prince Max Emanuel II succeeded in taking Porta Claudia in a bold and unexpected attack. When the occupying Bavarian forces exploded the ammunitions stores, it caused immense destruction. However, all was soon rebuilt. When Goethe passed through here on his Italian Journey in 1786, he noted, “Near Scharnitz, one arrives in Tyrol. The border is closed by a wall, which locks off the valley and merges with the mountain massif. It looks quite attractive. On one side, the cliffs are fortified, on the other, they reach up almost vertically.”
In 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars, the French Marechal Ney, coming from Mittenwald, attacked the “Schanzen” at Leutasch and Porta Claudia with 13,000 troops. At the time, Porta Claudia was defended by 12 cannons and 700 men. At the beginning, they were able to fend off the attacks. Every demand to surrender was rejected by the commander of the fortress. Only when the French, under the leadership of a Bavarian woodsman who knew the area well, circled around the fortress, was Porta Claudia’s fate sealed. The Austrian occupying forces were all taken into captivity. The French suffered 1800 casualties.
In 1809, possession of the fortress changed back and forth between the Tyroleans, the French and the Bavarians. When Tyrol became part of Bavaria, it was more or less levelled to the ground, by a huge amount of explosives at a cost of more than 12,000 Guilders. Nevertheless, ruins of these old fortifications, some up to 6 meters in height, still stand on both sides of the Isar River north of Scharnitzas and still recall the fortress of old. In the former military barracks of Porta Claudia, the Customs Office was housed until 1957. Substantial remains of the “Leutascher Schanz” can still be seen today.
The fortress consisted of a main part and the ramparts. In the main part there was, besides the military barracks, also a chapel. The so-called “Cavalier” was part of the ramparts, where a cannon was mounted, as were “the powder magazine, the devil’s kitchen and the water shed”, from which water from the Isar River was fed into the moat. The 6-meter high walls with their battlements and embrasures, the partly ruined and over-grown ramparts, the large vaults (housing soldiers and horses), the moat, the parapets, etc. all give one an idea of how mighty this fortress once was.
After the fortress ‘Porta Claudia’, built by Empress Maria Theresia, was destroyed by the enemy in the battles of 1805, it remained in ruins for a long time. Near the Austrian Customs Office, the ruins of the old walls can still be seen today on both sides of the Isar. These bleached and partially disintegrated walls were once part of the mighty defense system for the protection of the homeland.
Contemporary depictions of Porta Claudia:
- A wood carving in Oberammergau
- A painting of the events of 1805 in Mittenwald’s Town Hall;
- A copper engraving in the Ferdinandeum State Museum in Innsbruck.
Today, excavations and renovations are regularly carried out at great cost, partially by clubs such as the Scharnitz Rifle Company. In the course of this work, various finds are still made.
The Scharnitz Information Office is happy to organize guided tours of the Porta Claudia.
Guided hikes of the Nature Lounge take place every Thursday.
- Scharnitz Information Office
Tel.: +43 (0)5 0880-40
Fax: +43 (0)5 0880-41
E-Mail: info.scharnitz@seefeld.com
- SUMMER
- FLIGHTS FROM € 29,-
-
Flight connections from around Europe direct to Innsbruck - just 1 1/2 hours from the Olympiaregion Seefeld.
Flights from just € 29,-
- CONTACT
-
Olympiaregion
Seefeld
Klosterstraße 43
A-6100 Seefeld
Tel: +43 (0)5 08800
Fax: +43 (0)5 0880-51
region@seefeld.com
- NEWSLETTER
-
News and Offers from Seefeld. Register here:
- QUALITY CHECK
-
Tell us what you think of us and win!
Analysis
- FOTOS & VIDEOS
-
Upload your holiday photos and videos...
More information...
- DRIVING PLEASURE
-
Audi Driving Experience
- SEARCH