Viehofen Castle

To secure its possessions, the Diocese of Passau presumably had a fortification built in the first half of the 11th century. The later castle was administered by ministeriales. The Lords of Viehofen were first mentioned in 1137 with an Egeno.

Around 1250, Ulrich von Viehofen was besieged in his castle by King Ottokar. The family died out with his son of the same name. In 1291, Heinrich von Kaja and the children of Ottokar von Lengbach inherited the lordship. Cristan von Lengbach, mentioned several times since 1311, also named himself after Viehofen. Through his son-in-law Reinprecht I, the fief passed to the Wallseer and then between 1474 and 1476 to the Liechtenstein.

After that, Rudiger Abnperg appears as the owner. In 1491, the suzerainty changed from the Passau bishops to Maximilian I. From 1508, Bernhard von Kirchberg held the now princely fief. His family owned Viehofen until around 1640. They were followed by the Lords of Wuschletitz, who sold it to the Counts of Herberstein in 1665. Afterwards, the Wellenstein family took over the lordship. Since 1745, the Counts Kuefstein have been the owners of the former castle. After the Napoleonic Wars, Viehofen was severely devastated for the first time. However, it was largely restored.

Between 1870 and 1880, Maria Pace Countess Kuefstein had major extensions carried out. From 1945 to 1955, the castle was occupied by Russian troops, who used it, among other things, as an ammunition depot and detention camp. When it was returned to its rightful owners, the castle was devastated and plundered. Initial plans for restoration and the establishment of a sanatorium failed due to costs. After that, the owners lost interest in their castle and left it to its fate. In the following decades, it fell into ruin; in 1966, part of the castle was demolished. In the following years, the roof and roof truss collapsed. In 2003, Josef Figl bought the complex from an insolvency estate and has been renovating it ever since.