The Scherffenberg epitaph

Secrets of a monument

It is Pentecost, 1476. Only a few soldiers who have not been killed or captured manage to escape. Bernhard von Scherffenberg has defeated the combined armies of the Bohemian king and Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. The castle and town of Grein have been saved and the devastation of the Upper Austrian territories, especially north of the Danube, which has been going on for years, has been brought to an end.

Bernhard von Scherffenberg is awarded the title of field captain of the principality “ob der Enns” by the Habsburg Frederick III for his heroic merits, and shortly afterwards the title of governor. This lays the foundation for the rise and wealth of the Scherffenberg family, the later owners of Ort Castle. As beneficiaries of the Counter-Reformation, they take possession of the lake castle through the expropriation of Jörger von Tollet, a Protestant.

100 years later: the epitaph in the Parish Church of Altmünster is dedicated to one of his descendants, GOTTHARDEN HERR VON SCHÄRFFENBERG AUF ORTT and his wife APOLONIA, who died in 1587, erected by his daughter and son-in-law.

Greek "epitáphion" or "belonging to the grave", is a monument to a deceased person in or at a church and is not usually in the same place as the grave.

The inscription, which you can read in the text link, like the entire epitaph, harbours a number of secrets.

We learn, for example, that the Scherffenbergs managed to connect with important Upper Austrian and Bohemian noble families through marriage. The epitaph draws on architectural elements of antiquity. The shrine, framed by two columns with Corinthian capitals, depicts a crucifixion scene, framed by a Renaissance portal. In the background, Jerusalem is depicted as a medieval city, the arch of the portal is formed by a band of clouds with angels' heads. Acanthus leaves fill the spandrels to the left and right of the arch. Mary and John mourn to the left and right of the cross. At its base lies the skull of Adam, the first man, whose tomb, according to legend, is located on the site of Christ’s cross.

Beneath the shrine kneels the praying Gotthard von Scherffenberg, opposite his deceased wife from the rich and powerful Moravian family of Mezericky, rulers of Lomnitz and Meseritsch. They are surrounded by their closest relatives, all of whom, except for the daughter, are marked as deceased by a cross at the crown of their heads.

On both sides of the scene, women personify those attributes that are important to the traditionally highly educated Scherffenbergs: COGITATIO – deep contemplation, represented by a woman reading amid her books, FIDES – faith, symbolised by a chalice and cross, SPES – hope, depicted as a chained woman, and CHARITAS – charity.

The epitaph consists of the same dark red to red-and-white speckled Hierlatz limestone as the Romanesque font. The outer frame uses architectural elements of ancient temples combined with grotesque, fantastical animal and human heads. Typical of the Renaissance, the French word for "rebirth", is the revival of the cultural achievements of Greek and Roman antiquity.

On the top cornice, two “putti” or naked children's figures are grieving, the female on the right with the coat of arms of the Meseritsch family (Velké Meziříčí) and the left putto leaning on that of the Starhembergs. Between them is the Scherffenberg coat of arms. Immediately below is a near irrefutable sign that the Scherffenbergs, like the whole of Upper Austria at that time, adhered to Protestantism.

The inscription, which you can also read in the text link, is an original quote from the Lutheran Bible, Matthew 11:28-30.

In the course of the Counter-Reformation and pledging of Upper Austria by Ferdinand II to Max of Bavaria, who appoints Adam von Herberstorff as governor, the economic and cultural boom of the Protestant era in Upper Austria comes to an end with the expulsion and execution of its leading figure Jörger von Tollet.

"I have received the list of fallen game. It's quite a lot, but to tell the truth, I have been worrying about much greater damage. I would wish as many preachers (= evangelical preachers) and rebellious ringleaders would perish."

This is Ferdinand II's reaction to the decimation of the game population by a harsh winter. As the main person responsible for the 30 Years' War and a fanatical counter-reformer, he initiates the start of the downfall of the House of Habsburg.