Möderndorf Castle

Möderndorf Castle is located on the right bank of the Gail river, south of Hermagor in the municipality of Hermagor-Pressegger See.

This historic castle reflects the history of the central Gailtal valley. Situated in the middle of the village of Möderndorf, it stands out with its cube-shaped, three-story construction. Möderndorf first appeared in 1331 in the parish register of Hermagor. Around 1458, the castle was owned by a Simon Weidegger, a vassal of the Counts of Görz. Through the Peace of Pusarnitz in 1460, it fell to Emperor Frederick III. Later, the Habsburgs then granted it to the Counts of Salamanca-Ortenburg. After several changes of ownership (Lords of Rechbach, Wiedmann), Prince Johann Ferdinand Porcia acquired the property on October 8, 1662. The Princes Porcia moved the regional court from the dilapidated Grünburg to the castle.

KR Georg Essl II acquired Möderndorf Castle on January 16, 1982, and made it available to the Gailtal Local History Museum Association for the establishment of a local history museum. He thus continued the work of his father Georg Essl I, who had already begun collecting ethnographic and cultural-historical objects from the region around 1900. With the support of the State of Carinthia, the municipality of Hermagor-Presseggersee, and significantly through the merchant family Essl (who donated the castle to the municipality of Hermagor), this historic building was fundamentally renovated and developed into a museum jewel from 2000 onwards. Today, it houses the "Gailtal Local History Museum" exhibition and is every year the venue for a series of cultural events.