Algersdorf Castle

Algersdorf Castle, also known as Alt-Eggenberg Castle, is a Graz castle whose history can be traced back to the 11th century. It is located slightly north of Eggenberg Castle on Baiernstraße. In its current form, which dates from the 15th century, it serves as a residential and administrative building. The former fortifications are no longer recognizable today.

The earliest mention of the castle as "Algeristeti" is found in 1050, when the free man Eppo exchanged it with the Archbishop of Salzburg for estates in the Sulmtal valley. In 1102, Aribo, a brother of Aribo Hartwig, gifted the castle to Göttweig Abbey. The abbey exchanged it in 1161 with Margrave Ottokar III for some possessions in Lower Austria. Around 1300, Friedrich von Algersdorf sold the castle and the now invisible fortified building to Hermann Windischgrätzer. His descendant Friedrich Windischgrätzer had to pawn the castle and the fortified building to Walter von Hanau. He donated it in 1377 as a soul endowment to the parish of Voitsberg.

In the 14th century, the estate seems to have lost its importance as a noble residence and become a peasant farm. Michael der Prem sold the estate on May 11, 1402, to the widow of Eckhart Windischgrätzer and her son Choloman. At this time, the estate was no longer a noble estate, but a leasehold. Until 1460, the estate remained in the hands of the Windischgrätzers, who ran it as a farm. In that year, Baltasar Ekgenberger of Graz bought the estate and rebuilt it into a noble residence. When he was arrested in 1490, the castle fell back to the Windischgrätzers. Margareta Windsichgrätzer sold Algersdorf to Seifried von Eggenberg in 1586. It was the seat of the manorial administration until the mid-18th century. Until the mid-19th century, it was administratively connected with Eggenberg Castle. In 1921, it was bought by Alfred Röhrich.