Felben Castle

The Felberturm (also known as Felben Castle Ruin or Velben-Kasten) is located in the Felben district of the municipality of Mittersill in the Zell am See district in Pinzgau, Salzburg (Museumstraße 2). The tower is one of the typical small castle complexes in Pinzgau, of which only the Weyerturm in Bramberg am Wildkogel remains. The castle complex itself stood on the plain at the entrance to the Felbertal valley.

The tower was probably built in the first half of the 12th century. The family of the Lords of Velben was settled here. Heitfoch der Velber is documented between 1147 and 1194. He was a free noble vassal of the Counts of Lechsgemünd-Mittersill. Ulrich der Velber is traceable between 1216 and 1232, but he was already a ministerialis of the Archbishops of Salzburg, who acquired the county of Oberpinzgau at that time (1228). Other family members include Gebhard I, Gebhart II, and the brothers Heinrich and Ekko von Velben. The latter gave half of this property to Archbishop Friedrich III. The following year, Heinrich received back his mortgaged half of the castle in Kaprun, but at the same time had to relinquish the Felbenturm. The Lords of Felben were also administrators at Mittersill Castle.

The Archbishop granted the tower to the Lords of Kuchl until 1351 and then again to Heinrich von Velben († 1369). His widow Dorothea, née von Waldeck, outlived two more husbands (Chalhosberger, Lebenberger). After her death († 1425), a lengthy inheritance dispute broke out, which Archbishop Pilgrim II von Puchheim was able to win for himself and confiscated the escheated fief. Since the much more defensible castle in Mittersill was available, the Felberturm lost its significance as a defensive structure.

The tower was subsequently given as a life annuity to deserving court officials, such as Georg Fröschl (1454), a salt boiler in Reichenhall, or the court marshal Christoph Trauner (1469).

Archbishop Bernhard von Rohr had the tower converted into a granary (hence the name Felberkasten). Nevertheless, it continued to be inhabited, subject to the condition of maintaining the roof. Notable residents include the silver chamberlain Sebastian Silberbeck (1508), Georg Kopeindl (1539), the valet Matheus Janschitz (1598), and the court tax collector Kellmüller (1640). Archbishop Paris Lodron gave the tower to his vice-chancellor Dr. Volpert Motzl and converted the property into a knight's fief. The tower remained in the possession of the Motzl family until 1812, when the Bavarian government (Salzburg was then occupied by the Bavarians) had it auctioned. In 1813 and 1814, passion plays were performed in the tower.

The Mittersill master brewer Josef Dieck bought the tower. From him, the children of Alois Löhr (Maria, Joseph, Johann, and Mathias) inherited the property in 1835. In 1837, the innkeepers Anton and Maria Meilinger bought the tower. They were followed by Anton (1844), Peter (1863), and Josef Meilinger (1868). His wife Elise Meilinger died in 1898. The property was then owned by Georg and Anna Hotter, Jakob Steger (1908), Margaret Rahn (1929), married Nindl, Lorenz Nindl (1934). In 1936, the tower was acquired by the market town of Mittersill, which is still the owner today. On the tower's grounds is the Häuslegut (Fröstllehen), which was the Meierhof of Kaprun Castle.

From about 1850 until 1964, the Felberturm was a roofless ruin. The old entrance to the tower was not at ground level, but only accessible via a retractable ladder. Previously, due to the beam stumps, three floors, each four meters high, could be distinguished. The floors were separated by wooden beam ceilings. The plaster shows a different floor division, which was probably changed during the renovation in the second half of the 15th century. The windows on the ground floor and first floor were loopholes. In the northeastern corner of the ground floor is a Gothic (pointed arch?) entrance gate. On the first and second floors of the eastern wall, there were two door openings in the middle. To the north are window niches with double benches, offering a view of the church of Mittersill. The living quarters, recognizable by the larger window format, were on the third and fourth floors. No brick chimneys were found; possibly the chimneys used at that time were made of wood, as in old smokehouses. In 1606, the tower was surrounded by a curtain wall.