Thurnhof (Maria-Thurn) Castle

The Thurnhof might once have been a defensive structure that served to protect the Grünburg. In addition, it probably also had a function to control the Gitschtal road passing by. It was first mentioned in a document in 1342 with Henricus der Turri. There are further mentions in the later 14th century. Allegedly, the Thurnhof was a popular base for Emperor Maximilian I for his hunting trips in the area. A Wastl von Thurn appears in a register of the Hermagor parish from 1533. In 1616, Archduke Ferdinand enfeoffed the Hermagor citizen Gregor Rossbacher with the estate. Christoph Rossbacher sold it to Abbot Konstantin of Arnoldstein Monastery. In 1702, Abbot Amandus sold the Thurnhof to Jakob Adam Grössing, who worked as a tax collector in Lessach. The Grössing family provided several administrators for the neighboring Grünburg. In 1708, they were ennobled. The Lords of Grössing are likely to have owned the Thurnhof as early as 1570. Their coat of arms, painted on wood with this year, has been preserved above the high altar of the neighboring small pilgrimage church. In 1786, Leopold Anton von Grössing sold the Thurnhof to the master builder Johann Seebacher. Owners in the 19th century also included Maximilian Lackner, who owned the Hermagor brewery. In 1870, the building passed into agricultural hands. It currently belongs to the Lampersberger family.

The Thurnhof consists of the actual tower and a two-story residential building attached to its west front. In its current form, it appears to have been a fortified rural dwelling during the Renaissance period. The year 1593 is carved into a beam of the well-preserved wooden beam ceiling of a room in the residential building. The remains of a sgraffito frame of a bricked-up window on the south front also date from the late 16th century. However, the four-story square tower is significantly older. It dates from the end of the 15th century. This original defensive tower has a side length of 6 x 7 m. Despite its small dimensions, its two lower floors have been inhabited to this day. Its unplastered walls, like those of the residential building, are built of rubble stone. The edges are ashlar. The few small windows served as loopholes for defense. On the west side, a bricked-up slit embrasure can be seen on the third floor. A battlement is likely to have been located on the top floor. Remains of beams on the north and west sides suggest this. On the east side of the tower, there was a large segmental arched opening, which was later bricked up. The complex had neither a moat nor a curtain wall. In the immediate vicinity of the Thurnhof is the filial church of Maria-Heimsuchung (Visitation of Mary), which served as the manor's house chapel until 1859. It is already mentioned in 1261, so there is a possibility that the Thurnhof had a predecessor building from that time.