History
The castle Dobra was the ancestral seat or at least the ancestral seat of a branch of the ministerial family of the Lords of Dobra, about whom numerous documents give information from the 12th century on.
The name Dobra is of South Slavic origin and comes from dobov = forest, oak forest. Since South Slavic names are very rare in the Waldviertel, it is not excluded that the ancestral seat of this family was near St. Peter in der Au and that from here a branch of it moved to the Waldviertel, built the castle Dobra and made it the center of its property; in the 12th century we find the lords of Dobra already in both mentioned areas.
In 1186 the first known member of this family, HERTNIT von Dobra, appears as a witness of a settlement of Count Heinrich von Playen u. Hardegg with the Bishop Diepold von Passau about fiefs of Leutaker (near Pulkau).
In 1278 Otto of Dürnstein is enfeoffed with the fortress of Dobra as a servant of Heinrich the Elder of Kuenring on Weitra.
1329 Arnold of Dobra, with the consent of his feudal lord Albero of Kuenring, sells half the house of Dobra with all rights to his uncle Simon of Sitzendorf for 235 pounds.
1342 Johann II. of Kuenring inherits the castle Dobra after Albero VII.
In 1408 the House of Dobra am Kamp falls to the House of Liechtenstein in the inheritance dispute between Achaz of Kuenring and his brother-in-law Johann II of Liechtenstein- Nikolsburg.
1464 Wilhelm von Missingdorf, a scion of the old and respected Hardegg nobility, is lord of Dobra.
In 1513 the family of Missingdorf dies out with Mr. Hans von Missingdorf on Dobra.
1533 on 7.6. King Ferdinand I. enfeoffs his field captain Baron Nikolaus von Rauber in man's inheritance with Dobra.
1564 on 17.11. Sebastian von Windisch- Grätz becomes owner of Dobra by enfeoffment. (This enfeoffment was made by King Maximilian II. after the death of Baron Wolf Dietrich von Rauber, because Sebastian von Windisch-Grätz had to claim significant sums of money for the fortress).
In 1639 Baron Jakob von Kuefstein buys Dobra Castle from the Hutstocker heirs.
In 1645 the Swedes are said to have besieged Dobra Castle. According to the legend, the crew resorted to a ruse to make the besiegers leave. When there was only one piece of cattle left, they made the animal roar loudly by pinching it with red-hot tongs, then slaughtered it and threw the pieces of meat among the besiegers. The Swedes therefore thought that there were still rich supplies in the castle and left without having achieved anything.
In 1696 the lords of Idolsberg and Dobra settle disputes about Tiefenbach subjects.
In 1699, after the death of childless Anna Maria von Megier, Emperor Leopold I sold Dobra Castle and dominion to Baron Johann Reichardt Schäffer for 14,216 Pf.57 Kr. and allowed him to rebuild the castle in a more convenient place of the fiefdom.
In 1715 Baron Johann Philipp von Ehrmanns inherited Dobra Castle and Lordship from a cousin Johann Reichardt Schäffer. He also owned the dominions of Wetzlas and Tiefenbach, united Dobra with that of Wetzlas, to which later also the dominions of Krumau and Waldreichs were added. He died in 1729 in Orsova as the commander of this border fortress.
In 1720 Baron Ignaz Philipp von Ehrmanns zum Schlug, in accordance with the imperial permission of 1699, builds the Meierhof Wetzlas into a chateau.
In 1725, after moving from Dobra to Wetzlas, the castle began to decay. Stone material was used to build small houses below the castle and to extend the church in Franzen.
1958 The Windhag` sche Stipendienstiftung becomes the owner of the Dobra ruin.
Since 1996 the association Pölla Aktiv has leased the ruin.
Sources: The Old Homeland; Dehio Handbook