Ober-Oesterreich. Ruinen des Schlosses Spielberg.

Title

Ober-Oesterreich. Ruinen des Schlosses Spielberg.

Description

Very beautiful hand-colored view of the Spielberg castle ruins in Upper Austria. In the foreground, the Danube with two boats. From "Zwey hundert vier und sechszig Donau-Ansichten", drawn by Jakob Alt (1789–1872).

ca. 1826

Artist

Kunike Adolf Friedrich (1777-1838)

Adolf Kunike was a student at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1804. From 1808 to 1810 he studied history painting in Rome. In 1816 Kunike made contact with Alois Senefelder in Munich. In 1817 he opened his own lithographic institute in Vienna. Initially active as an artist herself, Kunike later limited herself to lithographic reproduction and the management of her own company, which became the foster home of artist's lithography, especially portraits and landscapes. He published series works, the most important of which are the two hundred and sixty Danube views according to the course of the Danube river from its origin to its outflow into the Black Sea ... which Kunike published in three editions in 1820, 1824, 1826. The majority of the pictures appearing in this work are by Jakob Alt.

Historical Description

The ruins of Spielberg Castle in Lower Austria bear witness to a once important castle complex on the Danube. Originally a medieval fortification, the castle was repeatedly rebuilt and extended over the centuries. Wars, floods and subsequent decay gradually led to its decline. Today, the surviving walls recall the castle’s eventful history.