Neu-Montfort Castle, Götzis
Neu-Montfort Castle is the ruin of a medieval hilltop castle near Götzis in Vorarlberg and was built at the beginning of the 14th century.
The tower walls of Neu-Montfort Castle above Götzis can be seen from afar and are a reminder of the Middle Ages and its founders.
The castle was built between 1311 and 1319 on the north-eastern foothills of the Therenberg above Götzis by order of Counts Rudolf III and Ulrich II of Montfort - the first documented mention dates from 1319. Neu-Montfort is said to have been built on the site of an older castle complex that probably once belonged to the Welfs, but which had already been destroyed before 1269.
Neu-Montfort is a simply structured complex. The castle complex originally consisted only of the mighty five-story keep-like residential tower, which still exists today, with a high entrance on the northeast side at the height of the second floor, and the palace that was added to the west but has since fallen into disrepair.

Around 30 years after it was built, the fortress became the property of the Habsburgs, who secured the first piece of land in Vorarlberg with this purchase in 1363. During the Appenzell War from 1403 to 1406, the castle was occupied by the League above the Lake. When the Appenzell War ended in 1408, Neu-Montfort was taken over again by the Habsburgs. After Duke Friedrich IV of Austria was outlawed, Emperor Sigismund confiscated the fief and gave it as collateral, first to the Counts of Nellenburg and then in 1417 to Count Friedrich of Toggenburg. In 1436 it was returned to the Habsburgs, who also mostly collateralized it. The last major renovation work was carried out under the bailiff of the Feldkirch lordship, Eitel Hans Gienger.
The decay began towards the end of the 17th century, when Ulrich Koch, the last resident castle administrator, died in 1693. The castle ruins now belong to the municipality of Götzis - in the third quarter of the 19th century, large parts of the keep collapsed. The first safety work was carried out in 1913 and the ring wall was restored in 1970 and 1974/75. More extensive repairs were carried out after the First World War and in the 1960s and 1970s. They could only slow down the decay, but not stop it. In 1992, a window in the southeast wall collapsed and soon afterwards an earthquake caused serious cracks in the wall in the east corner. In 1998, the keep area had to be closed off.
In 2020, archaeological excavations were carried out at Neu-Montfort Castle, where numerous historical relics and parts of a tiled stove were found. In addition, the basement of the palace was found and uncovered.
Text / Source: Association for the Preservation and Revitalization of Neu Montfort, Christoph Längle, B.A., Thomas-Lirer-Weg 32, 6840 Götzis
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Translated by Google •

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Location: Götzis, Bezirk Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, Austria

Burg Neu-Montfort

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