Bambergische Castle

The Bamberger Amthof is a secular building in the municipality of Feldkirchen in Carinthia. Originally built in the 13th and 14th centuries as the official residence of Bamberger ministerials, it now serves as a cultural and event center.

Numerous areas in present-day Carinthia came into the possession of the church through donations in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1166, among others, the present-day municipal area of Feldkirchen was transferred to the Diocese of Bamberg. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the diocese had a stately building erected on the site of the present Amthof, which was to serve as an administrative center and seat for the Bamberg ministerials. However, no remains of this first building are preserved today.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the complex consisted of a two-story, massive residential tower, first mentioned in a document in 1422 as the Tower of Feldkirchen. This "tower" is the north wing of the present complex. In 1434, the Ungnad family was enfeoffed with the Bamberg possessions in Feldkirchen. They had the Amthof fortified and expanded in view of the impending Turkish invasions. From this construction phase date the multi-story tower in the southeastern corner of the original building and the entire eastern and southeastern walling, including the southeastern round tower and the three-story central tower on the south side.

Under the Foregger family, the Amthof was further expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries. The defensive wall was supplemented in the southwestern corner and around the southwestern round tower, and the angle between the original building and the southeastern tower was built up. The entire north wing was raised.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries – the owner was now the brickyard owner Faleschini – the east and west wings were newly built incorporating the defensive walls, and the inner courtyard was equipped with arcades. The southern central tower was structurally connected to the two corner towers, creating the present four-winged complex.

From 1991 to 1993, the entire complex was restored.