Then & Now
The #ploetzhof is one of the oldest buildings in the Hof parish near Salzburg. Formerly known as the Plötzhaus, it once served as a prison.
This was located in the property’s historic core – the basement built on rock and constructed out of rough stone in the early 16th century.
Basement from the 16th century
Folk memory has it that the Kirchbichlhof was used for trials. The condemned were transported to the basement of the “Plötzhaus” (today’s #ploetzhof) and locked up in its prison.
The local name for this primitive penal institution was “Keiche”. This derives from the Middle German for struggling to breathe, “kichen”. In other words, a “Keiche” was a place which would literally take your breath away.
A Keiche was used to house those awaiting trial and also to enforce sentences. Convicts who were unable to pay their fines were also imprisoned in the Keiche.
"Keiche" at the #ploetzhof to enforce sentences and house those awaiting trial
When the Keiche was discontinued, the building was adapted into an agricultural residential and commercial building. This agricultural use continued until the Wolfgangsee federal highway was built at the end of the 1950s. The old feeding trough still exists today. The housing unit in its current form was largely built by Maria and
Johann Frimbichler in 1932 and underwent a general renovation by its current owners in 2020.
Verwendete Quellen und Literatur:
Felber, Josef/Lakner, Georg/Johann Schwaiger/Anderl, Hubert/ Müller, Arno u.a: »Chronik Hof bei Salzburg-Heimatbuch«, hrsg. von der Gemeinde Hof bei Salzburg, 1989.
