Wolkersdorf Castle

Wolkersdorf Castle is first mentioned in a document in 1178. The Wolkersdorfers were a collateral line of the Lords of Ulrichskirchen. Wolkersdorf was then a Passau fief.

Herman the Elder of Wolkersdorf donated parts of his property to Zwettl Abbey and the Knights Hospitaller of Mailberg in 1241 and 1281 respectively. Wernhard von Wolkersdorf fought alongside Rudolf I, so his castle was besieged by King Ottokar in 1275 and eventually had to surrender. In 1334, the Lords of Wolkersdorf died out. Somewhat later, the dominion appears as a fief of the Burgraves of Nuremberg. The feudal lords now changed relatively quickly. Around 1400, the castle belonged to the Lower Austrian Land Marshal Ulrich von Dachsberg.

In 1423, Gundacker and Kaspar von Starhemberg inherited the property, which at that time belonged to the dominion of Seefeld. In 1488, Matthias Corvinus succeeded in capturing Wolkersdorf. In 1529, the castle was defended against the Turks by Julius Graf Hardegg. Anna, the wife of Emperor Ferdinand I, bought the complex in 1542 and dedicated it to the Hofspital. In 1706, Emperor Charles VI had the castle converted into a Baroque palace, while the medieval building parts were retained. After the Hofspital was dissolved in 1800, the building came into the possession of a hospital fund, but partly fell into disrepair. In 1816, the south wing had to be demolished due to poor foundations.

Hugo Graf Abensberg-Traun acquired Wolkersdorf Castle in 1870, but sold it in 1884 to the local savings bank. Since 1969, it has belonged to the municipality of Wolkersdorf, which acquired it for a symbolic shilling. The building mainly houses cultural institutions as well as exhibition rooms and studios.