Ferlach Castle

Ferlach Castle is a former manor house. It is located on the southwestern edge of the core city of Ferlach in Carinthia. It was built in the 16th century and further expanded around 1780. The building has 2½ stories and has been used as a museum since 1998.

The building was erected in the first half of the 16th century as a simple hall-story house. The builder is unknown, presumably it was the first owner of the Ferlach hammer mills, Thomas Tifrer, or the industrialist family Locatelli. In 1692, it was acquired by the industrialist family Huebmershoffen, who called themselves "von Silbernagl" from 1738. Ignaz Freiherr von Silbernagl had the building raised to its current form and transformed into a late Baroque noble residence in 1780. To avoid confusion with the nearby Wildenberg Castle, Ferlach Castle was also called "Lower Castle."

The Silbernagl family remained in possession of the castle until 1874. Then, for financial reasons, they had to sell their hammer mills and the manor house to the industrialist Paul Mühlbacher. His nephew Gustav Voigt joined the company in 1879 and took over the castle. The Voigt family remained castle owners for 78 years until the estate was sold to KESTAG-Stahlwerke on July 25, 1957. These were taken over by Voest-Alpine Steinel. In 1991, the municipality of Ferlach bought the residence, including the adjacent park, with funds from the federal government and the state, and shortly thereafter also the neighboring administration building, which formerly housed Mühlbacher's stables.