Liebburg Palais

The Liebburg was once the residential castle of the noble family of the Barons (since 1630 Counts) Wolkenstein-Rodenegg on the main square of the Austrian city of Lienz (East Tyrol). It was built at the beginning of the 17th century and was the residence of the Barons from approx. 1608 to 1653. Since 1988, it has served as the town hall of Lienz.

The Liebburg was built between 1606 and 1608 by the brothers Sigmund and Christoph von Wolkenstein-Rodenegg, as their residence, Bruck Castle on Hochstein, seemed cold and uncomfortable to them. Until 1653, the Wolkenstein-Rodenegg family owned the Liebburg. In the same year, the entire dominion of Lienz was returned to the provincial rulers of Tyrol. In 1653, it was sold again for 142,000 guilders to the Royal Ladies' Convent of Hall in Tyrol, which now managed it. In 1783, the Ladies' Convent was dissolved by Emperor Joseph II. In the following years, the Liebburg served as a military camp, a hospital for the poor, and until the 20th century, as the district administration office.

Catastrophes

The Liebburg burned down in two major fires in Lienz in 1609 and 1723. During the reconstruction in 1609, the characteristic onion domes were added. To protect the city from further fires after 1723, a fire ordinance was issued by the government in Innsbruck. The people of Lienz promised to hold the Florian procession every year. In 1757 and 1758, a flood damaged the Liebburg.