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At the
civic hospital which now houses the Höbarth Museum, the dome of a tower
can be seen. This peel near the former Gate to Vienna is decorated with
beautiful "Schlüssellochscharten" (literal translation: keyhole-shaped
notches or loop holes) A big gate used to lead to the "Wehrgang" in the
wall. Inside the tower, you can enjoy a documentation about the lead
robber J.G. Grasel (1790 – 1818). His hunting ground was in the "Forest
Quarter" and in Mähren, and he is mistakenly considered to be the "Robin
Hood of Austria. In the Czec Republic, "Grazel" is used as a swear word.
During the 11th century, the settlement around
the Church of St. Stephens was built on the right hand bank of the river
Taffa, and in the following century the town of Horn developed further.
Its wall more or less surrounds the triangular town square. The wall is
almost preserved even though many of its fortifications are now intigrated
into the courtyards of buildings. The three gates which used to lead
into the town were demolished in the 19th century. On Robert
Hamerling Street, you can still see some beautiful battlements. The
castle, formerly the fortress was the fortification on the east side of
the town wall.
When the fortifications
were no longer used for defence purposes, many trenches were filled in and
foundations were dismantled. Parks and green spaces developed and moats
were turned into shooting ranges used by shooting clubs. There has been a
400 year long tradition of shooting in Horn. Originally, residents were
trained in the use of weapons by the members of the shooting clubs, and
later on, shooting at richly decorated targets became the sport of the
middle classes. The shooting club at the Horner Stadtpark, the park of
the town, existed until 1974.
This translation from the
original in German was done by Anne K Rigby at no cost to the WTFC.
She can be reached at
......
Anne K Rigby. AKR Translations.
Tel:+44(0)124431316236 e.mail:
AKR.Translations@virgin.net
Austrian Walled Towns Link
Drosendorf I
Eggenburg I
Friesach I
Horn
I
Radstadt I
Waidhofen an der Thaya I
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