180 years ago Ottenburg received a royal visit.
Above all, the schoolchildren at the time should not have forgotten the day.
Ottenburg / Eching
- In Catholic Bavaria, October 15th has always been considered Theresa Day, in memory of the Spanish saint, church teacher and founder of the order Theresa von Ávila (1515 - 1582). Exactly 180 years ago to the day, on October 15, 1841, also a Friday, there was a high, royal visit to Ottenburg Castle on the occasion of this holiday: a historical event that only recently occurred due to extensive digitization of the holdings in the Bavarian State Library from Fürholzer homeland researcher Ernst Keller was rediscovered.
The "so beautifully situated Ottenburg Castle, formerly the prince-bishop's summer residence" with its "enchanting panoramic view", as it is called in a report at the time, was acquired by the Munich city protocolist Joseph Zeiler together with his wife Margaretha in 1837.
In Munich's upper class, people raved about its unique location and idyllic surroundings.
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View from the castle hill in the past: The property was known for its "enchanting panoramic view".
© Repro: Wilms
The following contemporary quote could easily have come from a travel guide or a current, tourist advertisement: From the Ottenburg, located on the chain of hills bordering the Munich gravel plain, you can enjoy an “excellent view of the whole wide plain with the mountains in the background” and of the small villages between the hill range and Amper with their "products of grain, cattle, fruit, Viktualien (food), wood and peat".
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
It was no coincidence that his Majesty King Ludwig I chose this place in 1841 “to celebrate her name day, Theresientag, there with his most blessed wife Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen”.
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Ottenburg Castle today: the building is privately owned.
© Wilms
The big event was announced a few days beforehand, on October 13, 1841 in the “Bayerischer Eilbote” with the following words: “On the next Friday, as the day of the highest naming ceremony for Her Majesty the Queen, Her Royal Majesties will make a small country tour to Ottenburg .
The castle there, formerly part of the Diocese of Freising, was very fortified in the 12th and 13th centuries to cover and secure the transport of salt against the Bavarian dukes. "
At that time, too, the subjects followed the fate and everyday stories of the nobility and the royal houses with great pleasure and in detail in the relevant gazettes. In the early afternoon of October 15, 1841, the royal family, King Ludwig I, Queen Therese and the younger of their eight children - together with their daughter-in-law Amalie, Queen of Greece, and Prince Karl, Grand Duke of Hesse - were reported in detail -Darmstadt, appeared with wife in the garden of the "Zeiler'schen economic castle in Ottenburg for the festive meal". And when kings travel, (...) they are favored "from the weather to the departure" with beautiful autumn weather. After being welcomed by the "patriotic landowners", the high-ranking guests took their seats at the festive table in the open air.
On the square in front of the castle, the local schoolchildren gradually gathered and enthusiastically sang the song "Heil our König, Heil!"
A friend of the Zeiler family even wrote three poems in honor of the royal majesties and wrote them on pieces of paper, which were read with great interest by the "greatest gentlemen" and passed on at the table.
After the common feast and the social get-together, every single school child - as well as the five children of the castle owner - received a gift of money as thanks for the beautiful lecture: personally from the hands of Queen Therese.
