Lichtenau Castle

Lichtenau Castle is located in the municipality of Stuhlfelden in the Zell am See district of Salzburg (Stuhlfelden 23). The castle stands in the middle of the village and, with its four stories, clearly overtops the other houses in the village.

The castle was built between 1503 and 1506 by the industrialist Wilhelm Rosenberger von Rosenegg. Previously, marble coats of arms of the families von Törring and von Labach were attached above the entrance portal, which have now disappeared; therefore, no proof of ownership for these families can be assumed.

The castle was brought into its current form as a typical Salzburg noble residence in 1624 by Christoph Khuen von Belasy. The estate remained in the possession of the Khuen von Belasy family until 1663, when the Lichtenau manor, as a free allodial property, passed to Georg Thomas Perger von Emslieb. He was then the administrator of Mittersill and the urban provost of the Kellenamt (which was the administrator, tax collector, and judge of the archdiocese) Stuhlfelden. In 1676, the castle was acquired by Johann Josef Graf zu Kuenburg and sold on to Archbishop Max Gandolf von Kuenburg in the same year. He had apartments set up here, among others for the sub-forest master of Pinzgau, so that the castle would not stand empty. Until 1811, the castle remained in princely possession as an official and residential building; between 1811 and 1816, it was under the royal Bavarian Rentamt, after which the imperial and royal forest administration was moved here.

In 1902, the castle was acquired by Alfred Freiherr Plappart von Leenheer. After several changes of ownership, the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools from Vienna acquired it in 1930 and established a secondary school with a boarding school here. During the necessary adaptation works, the rear tower was removed. In 1959, the Protestant Church of Stuhlfelden bought the building and set up a home and training center. In 1978, the castle was bought by the municipality of Stuhlfelden, renovated, and revitalized. Today, the castle houses a special education center and event rooms. The castle also serves cultural purposes.