Freiberg Castle

The ancient fortress of Freiberg was the seat of the Freibergers, a ministerial family, in the first half of the 13th century. The Freiberger family is attested as early as the first half of the 12th century. In 1181, the castle is first mentioned as "castrum vrieberch". The most famous Sponheimer, Duke Bernhard, had the castle at Freiberg expanded and entrusted it to his ministerials, who were well-known and feared at the time. The Knights of Freiberg were originally in the service of the Gurkers and served the Duke of Carinthia from 1254 onwards.

Towards the end of the 13th century, the Carinthian nobility conspired against Duke Meinhard, who resided from Tyrol. Therefore, the Duke sent his son Otto to Carinthia, who settled in Freiberg. There he invited the Carinthian lords as guests, captured the surprised men in the castle, and had them publicly executed in the main square of St. Veit. From 1325, the ducal castle became the seat of an extensive regional court, whose original seat was probably St. Veit. In the following period, Freiberg changed owners several times.

In 1982, the Freuthofer family finally sold the castle plot to the St. Veit architect Robert Caldera. He renovated the remains of the walls in the outer bailey area of the castle, which had already been described as "desolate" in the 16th century. On the top of the rock cone, remains of the former main castle from the 12th century can still be found.

Source text: www.wehrbauten.at