Gomarn Castle

The extensive building complex of the Gomarn castle ruins is located on the ridge of a hill near Bad St. Leonhard in the Lavanttal valley.

The oldest part of the castle is the thick-walled keep with a square floor plan, built around 1300. The partially preserved, four-story wall remains date from the 15th century. The city wall is integrated in the southwest, and thus the castle formed an important part of the fortifications.

For the possession of the Diocese of Bamberg in the Lavanttal, the royal estate (partly as allod, partly as fief) handed over by Henry II undoubtedly formed the basis of the property around Wolfsberg. The diocese needed no less than three centuries to form the relatively large, closed property complexes around Wolfsberg in the Lavanttal and from Villach to Pontafel/Pontebba in the Kanaltal. However, the expansion into a large, closed property complex was only completed in 1425 with the acquisition of the high court rights.

As the first center in the upper Lavanttal, then known as Gaminare or Gomarn, the church of Saint Leonhard, built by Bishop Otto I, appears. The name Gomarn derives from the foundation of a Capella sancti Leonardi in Gaminare during the time of Bamberg's territorial sovereignty in the Lavanttal (12th century). Even today, the place is dialectically called "Gammern".

In 1278, St. Leonhard Castle was mentioned, which today lies in ruins but is still called Gomarn. The rich ore deposits in the immediate vicinity, especially the gold mining in Kliening, led to the emergence of a town, first mentioned in 1311, and granted town rights and a castle precinct by Bishop Henry II of Sternberg in 1325.

The Gomarn castle ruins on the Schlossberg, first mentioned in a document from 1287, were once the seat of Bamberg administrators. In 1762, the castle fell victim to flames and, after rapid restoration, burned down again in 1808.

The spacious inner courtyard now serves as an event venue.