Grubhof Castle

Grubhof Castle is located in the municipality of St. Martin bei Lofer in the district of Zell am See in the federal state of Salzburg (St. Martin 2). The castle resembles a villa from the Gründerzeit; this appearance was given to the originally medieval manor house towards the end of the 19th century.

Around 1300, the Grubhof in Louer was mentioned as an archiepiscopal fief; a Gebhard von Velben appeared as its owner. From 1325, the Grueber family was named here. Heinrich Grueber was followed by his son Jakob, and he by Ulrich Grueber (1409). The next in this line was Nicolas Grueber (1428) and after him Hans Gruber. His widow Katrein Payrin sold her half share to her brother-in-law Conrad Gruber, and the other half was acquired by Adelgern Hunt after 1490. In 1518, Conrad Gruber sold the estate to Wolfgang Pichler.

In 1537, Ludwig Ritz, a high princely Salzburg councilor, acquired the estate and had it expanded into a manor house in 1541. His application for noble freedom was rejected in 1546, but by 1593, the noble seat seemed to have received this tax privilege. In 1561, his three sons and five daughters succeeded him in ownership. Of these, Hermann Ritz was able to acquire the inheritance undivided again. In 1620, it passed to his two sons, who already sold the property in 1624 to the brothers Hans Ludwig and Bernhard Wilhelm from a collateral line of the Ritz family. The last of the Ritz family was Emeran Raimund Ritz († 1708). His widow Maria Barbara Goldin, née von Schernberg, married Baron Franz Dietrich von Motzl, who also acquired the shares of the other heirs in 1712. He was followed by Franz Josef and then Georg Franz Anton Barons von Motzl zu Grubhof from this family. The latter had extensive renovation work carried out from 1783 to 1785. Through his widow, the property came to her niece Waldburga Auer von Winkl, who was married to Baron Anselm Karl von Imhof. In the same year, the property was allodified.

In 1828, the brothers Ferdinand and Johann Nepomuk von Rehlingen acquired the castle through an exchange purchase. In 1829, the Royal Bavarian Main Salt Office in Reichenhall auctioned the castle and the associated land. In 1868, the castle was sold to Josef Faistauer and from him in 1879 to his son Josef Faistauer. His son Anton Faistauer was born here.