Mallentein (Ödenfest) Castle

The castle ruin Ödenfest, also known as Mal(l)enthein, Rau(c)henfest or simply Malta, is the ruin of a medieval hilltop castle at about 1000 m above sea level above the village of Malta in Carinthia, which was built in the 11th century but already fell into disrepair in the 14th century.

While a documentary mention of the place Malta is already proven for the 10th century (957/93 as loco Malontina), the castle was probably built only in the 11th century. The first documentary mention dates from between 1075 and 1090. It was owned by a nobleman named Heimo, a ministerialis of the Diocese of Brixen. In the 12th century, it came into the possession of a collateral line of the Counts of Heunburg, who also called themselves "Malentheiner" after the place. The first verifiable bearer of this name is documented as Walther de Malantin for 1129/30. Count Wilhelm III of Heunburg called himself comes de Malentin in 1226, and others of his lineage called themselves "von Malta".

The castle may have been destroyed when Count Ulrich III of Heunburg († 1308) revolted together with the Archbishop of Salzburg against the Meinhardiner and Duke Albrecht of Austria. In any case, the complex began to decay in the 14th century after it no longer served as a noble residence.

Since the river, village, and castle bore the same name, individuals who named themselves after the place appeared repeatedly in the following period. These included Hans Malteiner in 1411, Jörg Maleteyner in 1465, Georg Malentheiner in 1496 and 1531, and Jakob Malentheiner in 1577. From about 1400, they no longer resided at the castle but worked in various parts of Upper Carinthia as administrators, officials, or tradesmen, until the Carinthian line of the family died out in the male line in 1768.

In 1622, a Georg von Mallenthein appears, whose family resided in the 16th century at Prießenegg Castle in Kühweg near Hermagor, which was then also referred to as Malenthein Castle.