Hohenberg Castle

The first documented mention of Hohenberg Castle dates back to 1100, although the individuals named there, Otto, Gottfried, and Herand of Hohenberg, were likely not the original builders. It is believed that Heinrich and Dietrich, sons of Leutold of Hohenstaff from the 13th century, were the actual founders of the complex. In the 14th century, during a fratricidal war over the guardianship of Albrecht V, Hans I of Hohenberg sided with Duke Ernst. This allowed him to compel Lilienfeld Abbey to support him. When Duke Leopold then dispatched the Moravian knight Sokol for a punitive expedition, he merely confiscated the Hohenberg horses. Hans I retaliated for the lack of support from the abbey by plundering it, as Sokol had found refuge there. In 1482, during the conflicts between Emperor Frederick III and Matthias Corvinus, Hans III opened his castles Merkenstein, Hohenberg, and Kreisbach to the Hungarians. In 1529, Erasmus of Hohenberg died, ending the family line. The lordship passed to Wilhelm von Roggendorf, husband of Erasmus's daughter Anna. In the following decades, the castle changed hands multiple times, including Sebald Pögl the Younger and Baron Bernhard V von Jörger. In 1619, Emperor Ferdinand II confiscated the Jörger's possessions because they were pressuring Lilienfeld Abbey. During the subsequent siege by imperial troops under Hans Balthasar von Hoyos, the castle was set on fire and largely destroyed.