Dürnkrut Castle

As early as 1050, a fortress is likely to have been built in Dürnkrut, and in 1188, a castle appears to have been owned by the Kuenringer family. The feudal lord of this area was originally the Diocese of Regensburg or its cathedral vogts.

From 1180, the noble free lords of Lengenbach and, after them, the Counts of Schaunberg were the feudal lords. From 1361, the Lords of Zelking, as vassals of the Schaunbergers and later the Habsburgs, resided at Dürnkrut Castle, even after the castle became princely property in 1377. In 1419, Gerhard Fronauer and in 1464 his son Gamaret were enfeoffed with Dürnkrut. During the Hussite invasions of 1431 to 1437, the castle repeatedly offered protection to the civilian population. From 1503, the Lords of Lembach were resident here.

In 1529, the Turks caused great damage but could not capture the castle. In 1580, Bernhard von Lembach sold the lordship to Siegmund Freiherr von Landau. In 1603, he had the castle converted into a Renaissance palace and the outer bailey built. As a Protestant rebel, his property was confiscated by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1621. Dürnkrut first went as a fief and in 1636 as a free property to General Rudolf Freiherr von Teuffenbach. His stepson Michael Wenzel Graf Althan inherited the property and sold it in 1696 to Count Jakob von Hamilton, who came from Scotland. He ensured a comfortable expansion of the palace.

In 1704, the Kurucs unsuccessfully stormed the walls of the palace. In 1778, the guardianship of Count Franz de Paul von Kohary acquired the lordship. Through his daughter Maria Antonie, Dürnkrut came to her husband Ferdinand Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1830. In 1866, the general staff of the First Prussian Army was quartered in the palace. In 1985, the market town acquired the already heavily neglected building. The building, completely renovated a few years ago, now houses a cultural and community center.