Hofen Castle

The history of the site dates back to 1218, when the Hof or Tower of Hofen served as the seat of Montfort ministerials and castellans of the nearby Lochau Castle (Alt-Hofen). This connection lasted until 1451. Alt-Hofen Castle was destroyed in 1452 by troops of the Swabian League and in 1456 passed as an Austrian fief to Jos Mündelin. In 1562, Hans Gaudenz von Raitenau acquired the “Burg Hofen” and had the current Schloss Hofen built there between 1584 and 1585, which was completed around 1616 by Hans Werner IV von Raitenau. A notable resident was Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, born at Schloss Hofen in 1559, who later became Archbishop of Salzburg. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was conquered in 1647 by Swedish troops under Count Karl Gustav Wrangel. In the following centuries, the castle changed hands multiple times, including to the Lords of Königsegg-Rothenfels (1659), the Barons of Stotzingen (1680), and Franz Joseph Maria von Debern (1733). Under Joseph Benedikt von Clavell, it was even used as a brewery from 1757. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it served as a reserve hospital, convalescent home, and military hospital, among other uses. In 1952, a hotel management school was established, before the State of Vorarlberg acquired the castle in 1971 and extensively renovated it between 1979 and 1986.

Schloss Hofen is located in Lochau in the Bregenz district of Vorarlberg, Austria, at an elevation of approximately 453 m above sea level.

Today, Schloss Hofen is owned by the State of Vorarlberg and has housed the Landesbildungszentrum Schloss Hofen, a center for science, education, and further training, since 1981.

• Alt-Hofen Castle Ruin (Castle), approx. 0.4 km away
• Ruggburg Castle Ruin (Castle), approx. 1.3 km away
• Wellenstein Manor (Manor House), approx. 1.5 km away
• Mariastern Abbey (Sacred Building), approx. 3.9 km away