Freydegg Castle

The area around Ferschnitz belonged to the Diocese of Regensburg as early as the 10th century. However, the castle was already owned by the Lords of Zelking in the 13th century. In 1339, Heinrich von Zelking is mentioned.

After that, the owners changed quite frequently. In 1406, Christoph von Zinzendorf, Christoph von Arberg, Johann von Streun, and Alber von Volkensdorf shared the lordship. This soon led to disputes until Johann Streun's widow managed to become the sole owner. In 1448, she bequeathed Freydegg to her grandsons Hans and Heinrich von Streun. The most important representative of the family was Richard Streun Freiherr von Schwarzenau, who owned the lordship from 1569 to 1600. He had the old castle converted into a Renaissance palace between 1575 and 1594.

In 1615, the already heavily indebted lordship had to be sold to Hans Joachim von Zinzendorf, who had already acquired the castle three years earlier. The Zinzendorfs sold it in 1678 to Konrad Balthasar von Starhemberg, who was related to them. His descendants owned the lordship until 1934. The castle, however, completely fell into disrepair in the meantime. The local farmers were allowed to use it as a quarry for building their houses. Only the entrance tower remained and was made habitable again in the 20th century. Freydegg is now privately owned.