Horn

Horn became an important Protestant town under the Puchheim family during the Reformation. Its civic landscape reflected the wealth and learning of the later sixteenth century. St George's Church was built between 1593 and 1597, combining elements of older architecture with Renaissance forms. Musicians served its worship and schools, while the landscape pharmacy was founded in 1597.

In September and October 1608, nobles gathered at the Puchheim castle to defend their religious and political interests against the Catholic ruler Matthias. The resulting Horn alliance was signed by 166 Protestant lords and knights, briefly giving the town a wider place in the affairs of the Austrian estates. A different religious programme followed in 1657, when Count Ferdinand Kurz founded a Piarist community and school to strengthen the Counter-Reformation. The school occupied a Renaissance residence built for the Puchheim family around 1590. Horn's churches, noble residences and classrooms consequently carried successive projects of religious reform within the same walled town.