Leonding: Tower hike

Description:

Points of interest along the way

Legendary cultural life

Tower 9 - Leonding City Museum. Tower 9, named "Apollonia," is privately owned and today houses the local history museum of the city of Leonding alongside residential apartments.

Tower 12 'Agnes'. Between Tower 12 and the no longer existing Tower 11 was the former outwork "Victoria," which, like all other towers, had a woman's name. Tower 12 bears the name "Agnes." After the fortification was decommissioned in 1858, "Agnes" remained standing. The changing private owners converted the tower for their purposes. For a time, it housed an apartment with an artist's studio and a guesthouse called "Artist's Retreat." 

Tower 13 'Genoveva'. Tower 13 was named "Genoveva." It is the most originally preserved tower and lies at the highest point of Leonding, 398 m above sea level. Between 1930 and 1955, "Genoveva" served as an explosives depot and was therefore popularly known as the "Powder Tower." Afterwards, the Red Cross used Tower 13 as a disaster storage. In 2000, the city of Leonding purchased the property to preserve it as a cultural monument.

The tower line is very clearly visible from Tower 13. Towers 9 and 10 can be seen to the southeast. Tower 12 and the locations of Tower 11 "Ludwine" as well as the outwork "Victoria" lie to the west.

A tower road approximately 19 km long connected the tower line. 

Painherrnhof. The Painherrnhof, the seat of the Holzheim lordship, was the residence of brothers Georg and Wolf Painherr, who were ennobled by the emperor in 1648 out of gratitude for their services. The Painherr family initiated the major renovation of the Leonding parish church in 1653, during which the Gothic church was almost completely baroque-ified. The Painherr family died out in 1684 with the son of Wolf Painherr. The Painherrnhof burned down completely twice. In 1726, a magnificent new Baroque building was erected by the then owner in place of the old castle. The portal of the new castle was designed particularly impressively. The design of today's Leonding coat of arms goes back to the coat of arms above the gate of the Painherrnhof. The Leonding city coat of arms shows a red, upright, golden-armed griffin on a silver background. The griffin was taken from the Painherr coat of arms. 

Leonding is a modern city with tradition. More than 30,000 inhabitants live in the fourth largest city in Upper Austria and appreciate the excellent quality of life. Leonding has developed very rapidly in recent years. The city has a lot to offer: a varied cultural, leisure, and sports program, comprehensive care facilities for young and old, a well-developed public transport network, high-quality affordable housing, and numerous beautiful green spaces are just some examples of why people feel comfortable here. Leonding can look back on an interesting history. Excavations testify to early settlement: Leondine, a skeleton find over 5,000 years old, can be viewed in Tower 9 – Leonding City Museum. Since the first documentary mention as "liutmuntinga" in 1013, many historical events have taken place in Leonding, one of which was the construction of the Maximilian fortification system.

In the 19th century, Archduke Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este, grandson of Empress Maria Theresa, had fortification towers erected in the current city area to protect Leonding and Linz from enemy attacks.

Information on the Maximilian fortification system              

Buildings of the Maximilian fortification system extend through the city area of Leonding. This military project was developed by Archduke Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este as his life’s work. After a long planning phase, the entire structure was built in only three years. A total of 32 towers were intended to protect the cities of Linz and Leonding from enemy cannons. At the time of their construction, the towers were a strategic masterpiece, but already 25 years later they lost their military significance. The system was officially decommissioned without ever being used in an emergency. Today, only a few remains of this impressive defense system remain.

Between the individual towers there was a direct line of sight. Where this was not possible, so-called outworks were erected. All towers followed the same design: most towers had a diameter of 35 meters and a height of 13 meters. They consisted of three concentric rings of walls and were surrounded by a protective embankment. Heavy grilles protected the glass windows from enemy projectiles. Attackers were only offered the roof as a target. Inside, there was a well to be self-sufficient in an emergency. Ammunition and food for about four months were stored in the basement or magazine floor; the middle living floor could accommodate 60 soldiers. In the top floor, the so-called embrasure floor, and on the roof were the guns. The construction of a tower cost about 60,000 guilders, which corresponds to about 655,000 euros. The towers were sold in the mid-19th century for only one percent of the construction cost. Each tower was surrounded by a protective embankment. Only the roof protruded. The enemy was thus offered only the roof as a target.

Machine gun position Archduke Maximilian had chosen the locations of the towers so strategically that many towers were also used militarily during World War II. The reinforced concrete machine gun positions around this tower testify to this as well as the former anti-aircraft positions at Towers 9 and 10.

During the tower construction, the roof was built first. It served as accommodation for the workers during the construction period. In times of war, the roof would have been lifted to create a free firing lane for the cannons. Similar fortress belts were intended to protect strategically important cities, especially in the border area of the Habsburg monarchy. The Maximilian fortification system drew great national and international attention. It is said to have even served as a model for the defense system of Paris.

Directions:
Start at Tower 9 – Leonding City Museum, Daffingerstraße – left past Lindmayrhof to Aichbergstraße – turn right, Aichbergstraße to Stadlerhof and further to Lugwiesstraße – turn right. Past Tower 12 to Mostbauer Rathwiese, Tower 13 – Friesenegger Straße – forest path – Zaubertalstraße – Peinherrweg to Painherrnhof. Return to Zaubertalstraße – Helmhartweg – Gasthaus Niederberger. Field path to the intersection Holzheimer Straße/Aichbergstraße, down this to Leondinger Straße – Daffingerstraße – past Tower 9 – about 350 meters further along Daffingerstraße and back to Tower 9 – Leonding City Museum (finish).Tip:
This route is presented to you by the Danube Upper Austria Tourism RegionEquipment:
Hiking backpack (including rain cover), sturdy footwearAdditional information:

Leonding Municipality
Stadtplatz 1

4060 Leonding,

Tel: +43 732 6878-0

Fax: +43 732 6878-998266

rathaus@leonding.at

www.leonding.at

Places to eat on the route

Mostbauer Eichhorn Barbara, Aichbergstraße 62, 4060 Leonding, Tel. +43 (0)732 78 46 51, Tue, Wed, open

Mostbauer Rathwieser, Pühringer Friedrich and Judith, Lugwiesstraße 43, 4060 Leonding, Tel. +43 (0)732 15 92, Fri, Sun, Mon, open

Gasthaus Niederberger, Holzheim 5, 4060 Leonding, Tel. +43 (0)732 77 14 07, Wed to Sun, open

Gasthaus Alhartinger Hof, Gerry Koblmüller, Hainzenbachstraße 66, 4060 Leonding, Tel. +43 (0)732 68 25 59, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun, open

Note: The Gasthaus Alhartinger Hof is also nearby (not directly along the tower hiking trail)