Fragenstein Castle

The castle was probably built around 1200 by the Counts of Andechs. The first known lord of the castle was Hageno de Fragenstain, who appears in documents in 1232. He was an Andechs ministerialis and entrusted with the care of the castle.

After Hageno's death, the castle passed to the Counts of Tyrol before 1248 and in 1254 to Gebhard von Hirschberg. His son of the same name sold it thirty years later to his nephew Count Meinhard II of Tyrol. Thus, the castle became princely property. Fragenstein was granted as a fief to Otto Charlinger. In 1355, Ruprecht Kärlinger (Charlinger) renounced the lordship in favor of Berthold von Ebenhausen. In 1365, it was acquired by Parzival I von Weineck.

The Weineckers had the castle extensively expanded and the upper defensive tower erected. Since Parzival II von Weineck had joined the Tyrolean nobility's alliance against Duke Friedrich IV in 1423, the latter demanded the return of the castle. Parzival refused, leading to lengthy disputes over ownership rights, which were only settled in 1446 by a court ruling in favor of the sovereign Duke Sigmund. He initially appointed administrators and had the complex further expanded. Emperor Maximilian I had the work continued, but in 1504 a fire destroyed the kitchen and several rooms, delaying completion.

Under Archduke Ferdinand, only the most necessary repair works were carried out, so that by 1540 the building was already described as dilapidated. Due to lack of funds, a thorough renovation was omitted. In 1662, Christoph Gumpp became the pledge holder. When Bavarian troops invaded Tyrol in 1703 and occupied Zirl, the castle walls were blown up. In 1775, it is described as a "pile of stones". Fragenstein belonged to the Gumpp family as pledged property until the beginning of the 19th century. Then it was pledged to Peter Fuhrmann, Andreas Maizger, and Jakob Kuen, who bought it in 1843. In 1878, the palas collapsed into the valley.

In 1933, restoration work began. Between 1974 and 1978, the ruin was finally renovated. Today it belongs to the municipality of Zirl. The upper tower is owned by the Kuen family, who have partially made it habitable again.