Riedegg Castle

The origins of Riedegg Castle date back to a fortress first mentioned in a document in 1150. In 1529, under Erasmus von Starhemberg, the conversion of the fortress into a castle began, with Turkish prisoners of war employed as laborers. In 1593, the property passed to Reichard von Starhemberg. After a fire in 1609, the castle was completely rebuilt under his patronage. An inscription above the entrance portal commemorates this reconstruction and the expansion of the estate at that time. Around 1750, the Riedegg dominion, including Breitenbruck, encompassed 385 subjects. In 1933, Prince Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg sold the castle to an Englishman named Slater, who resold it three years later, in 1936, to the Missionaries of Mariannhill. They first established a monastery there, later a school center, and an African missionary museum.