Why Rohrbach is older than expected and why the mayor was sentenced to death

ROHRBACH MOUNTAIN. A certain Leo, judge in Rohrbach, authenticated a document in the year of our Lord 1307. Albert Ettmayer brought this back to light when researching the archives for the new book on the history of Rohrbach and Berg. This proves that Rohrbach did not only have market rights since 1320, as originally assumed, but at least 13 years earlier. “It’s amazing how much knowledge is slumbering in the archives,” says the neo-author, who will be presenting his work on April 21 at the “Bunten Abend” in the Centro. He follows in the footsteps of Ignaz Nößlböck, who wrote the last little book about the history of Rohrbach 100 years ago.

“Our home in the Mühlviertel. Rohrbach-Berg, a lively town history” is the name of the work that Albert Ettmayer compiled with the support of many authors. The historian Roman Sandgruber made a contribution, as did the director of the high school, Nikolaus Stelzer, who meticulously reappraised the struggle between Haslach and Rohrbach over supremacy in the region. But the influence of the many rulers who have knighted for the region is also well documented. It was not clear for a long time that Rohrbach should be Austrian. Because the bishops of Passau had an important say in the Upper Mühlviertel for centuries. They competed with the Austrian sovereigns and the Habsburgs, who were enfeoffed with the Duchy of Austria in 1282.

history and stories

Not only the history of Rohrbach-Berg or the preceding communities was worked up, but also many stories from citizens. “We just wanted to document what life used to be like,” says Ettmayer. Today you can no longer imagine what everyday life was like for people. At that time there was also a completely different legal concept and much was tied to regional customary rights. However, the fact that Rohrbach was not just home to lower courts of law also came to light again when I was researching the book.

Death sentences are also possible

Although the mayor of Rohrbach could not carry out death sentences, he could pronounce them. Incidentally, the sword arm that is hung on the town hall still bears witness to the tradition of jurisdiction.

Rohrbach-Berg’s Mayor Andreas Lindorfer is not only happy that such a responsibility no longer rests on his shoulders, but also that the history of the community has been published in book form again: “The last historical processing of the documents and sources in our city archive was in 1923 made by Ignaz Nößlböck in a book. A lot has happened since then. That’s why I’m happy and I support the publication of the city history book.”

Colorful evening with book sales: “Unsere Heimat im Mühlviertel” Friday, April 21, 7:30 p.m., in the “Centro”, Rohrbach-Berg.
Admission is free!