Tittmoning () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in the district of Traunstein, in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Geography

It is situated in the historic

Rupertiwinkel The Rupertiwinkel is a small historic region on the southeastern border of Bavaria, Germany. Part of the Archbishopric of Salzburg until the early 19th century, it is named after the first Salzburg bishop Saint Rupert (c.660–710), apostle to th ...

region, on the left bank of the river

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central ...

, which forms the border with the municipality of

Ostermiething Ostermiething is a municipality in the district of Braunau am Inn in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Geography Ostermiething lies in the upper Innviertel on the western edge of the Weilhart forest directly across the Salzach from Germany. The ...

in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n state of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. The two communes are linked by a bridge. Tittmoning is located about northwest of the

city centre.

History

The settlement of ''Titamanninga'' was first mentioned about 790 AD, then a possession of St Peter's Abbey, Salzburg. After the Archbishops of Salzbug had achieved immediate status in the late 13th century, Tittmoning Castle was built as a border fortress against the incursions by the Dukes of Bavaria. The episcopal administrator of the castle and its environs was called

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especia ...

(''Burggraf''), as was Ulrich von Wispeck in 1282. Tittmoning was occupied by the forces of the German king Louis the Bavarian during his conflict with the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in 1324; nevertheless, he restored it to the Salzburg archbishops three years later. Temporarily given in pawn to Bavaria, the unlucky Prince-Archbishop

Wolf Dietrich Raitenau Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (26 March 1559 – 16 January 1617) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612. Life Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau, near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werne ...

had to cede the castle to the Bavarian duke Maximilian I in 1611; it was repurchased by his successor Archbishop

Mark Sittich von Hohenems Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps (1533–1595) was a German Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. The addition of ''Altemps'' to the family name reflects ''Alt-Ems'' (or ''Alt-Embs'') itself deriving from "Alta Embs" (Latin for "altus" = high), li ...

and rebuilt as a hunting lodge according to plans designed by Santino Solari. By the 17th century the castle had finally lost its character of a fortress and became the summer residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. Upon the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

, the Rupertiwinkel region finally fell to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

and Tittimoning Castle, damaged by French troops during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, passed under state-ownership. In the early years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the castle was used as a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

for officers,

Oflag VII-D Oflag VII-D was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager'') located in Tittmoning Castle in south-eastern Bavaria. Camp history The camp was opened as Oflag VII-D in February 1941, but in November 1941 became a su ...

. British and American citizens were also interned there (see Ilag VII Laufen and Tittmoning). They put on plays and sketches, including a performance of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Photos of these productions and paintings of the castle may be foun
here
Joseph Ratzinger lived here as a child between 11 July 1929 and 5 December 1932. Later he became a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

and in 2005 was elected

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

. A

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

takes place here every year at the end of May, with theatrical presentations, medieval tournaments and

jousting Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

Population development

Personalities and Honorary Citizens

* Pope

(born 1927) lived in Tittmoning between 1929 and 1932 and has been an honorary citizen since 24 January 2007. Radio Vatikan
Vatikan: Papst wird Ehrenbürger von Tittmoning
24. Januar 2007 In front of the home of the Ratzinger family is a sculpture in a bronze memorial plaque. *

Stefan Glowacz Stefan Glowacz (born March 22, 1965 in Tittmoning) is a German professional rock climber and adventurer. He started climbing at the age of 12 and advanced to one of the world's best sports climbers only few years later. Since 1993 he has been d ...

(born 1965), born in Tittmoning, professional mountaineer and entrepreneur

References

Sources

*Freed, John B. “Nobles, Ministerials, and Knights in the Archdiocese of Salzburg.” Speculum 62, No. 3 (Jul., 1987): 575–611. {{Cities and towns in Traunstein (district) Traunstein (district)