Hornegg Castle

With Chunrad von Horneck, a fortified building at the site of the present-day castle was first mentioned in 1230, but it was likely built towards the end of the 12th century.

The Hornecker family were ministeriales of the Salzburg archbishops. They were related to other well-known ministerial families such as the Pettauer, the Leibnitzer, and the Hollenegger. In 1373, Ottel and Jostel von Horneck sold their ancestral castle to their relative Kaspar von Saurau. He initiated an expansion of the fortifications. Around 1557, a generous renovation transformed the old fortress into a Renaissance castle. Wolf von Saurau sold the castle in 1603 to Anna Maria Watzlerin. From then on, the ownership changed quite frequently.

Among the owners were Franz Freiherr von Galler (1609) and Sigmund Wagen von Wagensberg (1617). In 1620, the Augustinian Canons Regular Monastery of Stainz acquired the lordship and united it with its lordship of Rohrbach-St. Josef. When the monastery was dissolved, the state religious fund sold it in 1785 to Bernhard von Greifenfels. However, he could not pay the purchase price, so the castle, which was already somewhat dilapidated, reverted to the religious fund. The estate was then mostly leased out. In 1809, French troops caused significant damage. Finally, Karl Freiherr von Mandell was able to acquire the lordship at auction in 1827. Ludwig Freiherr von Mandell sold it in 1875 to Daniel von Lapp. He had the castle rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style.

Frequent changes of ownership also occurred in the 20th century. In the interwar period, it belonged to the Counts Schönfeld. In 1939, the castle was acquired by Leonhard Brigl as a capital investment. His descendants, the Holler family, still own the castle today. Instead of the once flourishing agriculture, the fish ponds surrounding the castle now form the financial basis of the estate.