Middle Ages
In 1045 the name “Stillfried “ was mentioned in a historic document. for the first time . The German King Henry III gave land in the newly established Ungarnmark to Markgraf Siegfried. In the Middle Ages Stillfried was the central church of a parish district for approximately 13 villages in the region. A document of the 13th century first mentions a castle in Stillfried. The middle age castle mound stood within the domain of Premysl Ottokar of Bohemia. After the battle between Ottokar and Rudolf of Habsburg in 1278 the castle became Habsburg property.
At the beginning of the 14th century a fair is documented and later in the century even a weekly market. Stillfried was also the centre of a district court in those days. The castle, which remained Habsburg property until 1524, was destroyed in the 15th century. After the destruction of the castle the function of Stillfried as a centre of power gradually diminished . From the archaeological point of view we have pieces of pottery from the 11th to the 16th centuries. In addition there are swords, heads of cross bow bolts, hunting spear heads and tools. Outstanding objects are a Romanesque pendant showing a mythical creature with a human head, bulls feet and wings from the 13th century as well as a so called “Kuttrolf” – a glass jug with five spouts which used to be very popular at medieval banquets. A ceramic horse, of which fragments have been found, seems to have been a toy for a boy from the local aristocracy in the 15th century.
