Leonstein Castle

The castle of Leonstein was first documented in 1140 as "Lewensteine," though its existence on the local mountain is believed to date back to around 900. It was owned by the Bavarian Duke Heinrich, who granted it as a fief to the ministerialis Perhtoldus de Lewenstaine. Around 1320, the Rohrer family took over the property. At the end of the 14th century, the brothers Wilhelm and Wolfgang von Rohr became embroiled in a feud with Duke Albrecht III. They captured a Salzburg delegation to extort ransom. Duke Albrecht III then dispatched a siege army under Zacharias Haderer. After a three-month siege and the use of a stone cannon – the first documented use of artillery in Austria – the castle fell on November 2, 1390, and was destroyed by a fire explosion. Wilhelm von Rohr managed to escape.