Poppendorf Castle

Poppendorf Castle is located in Poppendorf, a municipality in the district of Südoststeiermark in the southeast of Styria, Austria. The castle is situated on a small hill at an altitude of 320 m above sea level, overlooking the (formerly swampy) Poppendorf Valley.

The origins of the castle, which has been altered multiple times, date back to a fortress in the 13th century. It was named after a certain Leutold von Poppendorf, a vassal of the Lords of Wildon. With Ulrich von Poppendorf, the last of his family, who was related to the Fürstenfelder and Preßnitzer families, died in 1386. Afterwards, Poppendorf gained the status of a princely domain. The lordship frequently changed owners in the subsequent period.

In 1420, Ulrich Pesnitzer bought the castle, which still belonged to his grandson of the same name in 1468.

Gradually, its owners expanded the "House of Poppendorf" into a castle. In 1605, it was severely damaged during the Hungarian invasions.

In 1667, Ferdinand von Offenheim began the complete reconstruction of the castle, which was completed in 1676 by Georg Mersperg and expanded in 1720 with a freestanding chapel. After several changes of ownership, Poppendorf Castle fell into disrepair in the 19th and early 20th centuries, until it was renovated and restored in 1926, before its complete decay. From 1950, the estate was parceled out and the plots of land were sold. Today, Poppendorf Castle houses a restaurant and is a venue for exhibitions and events. Several painting workshops have taken place here, organized by Josef Fink with the Cultural Center at the Minorites in Graz. It is privately owned.