Waxenberg Castle

The origins of the current Waxenberg ruin date back to just before 1300, after the original Rotenfels Castle was abandoned around 1291. Waxenberg Castle was a princely fief of the Habsburgs, and as early as 1306, the associated regional court was elevated to a county. Ownership changed hands frequently, including Heinrich von Wallsee around 1300, the brothers Kaspar and Balthasar Schallenberg in 1435, followed by Heinrich von Liechtenstein in 1463. Later, Michael von Traun (1492), Wolfgang Jörger zu Tollet (1504), and Nikolaus Rabenhaupt von Suche (1523) acquired the castle. In 1533, it passed to Erasmus and Wilhelm von Gera. Around 1594, Waxenberg served as a refuge during the Turkish threat. In 1614, Christoph von Gera acquired the dominion as a free property. During the Upper Austrian Peasant War in 1626, the castle was plundered and severely damaged by rebellious peasants, but they were forced to renovate it.