Felben Castle

The Felberturm was probably built in the first half of the 12th century and was the ancestral seat of the Lords of Velben. Heitfoch der Velber is documented between 1147 and 1194 as a free noble vassal of the Counts of Lechsgemünd-Mittersill. Later family members such as Ulrich der Velber (1216-1232) already served as ministeriales of the Archbishops of Salzburg, after they acquired the Upper Pinzgau county in 1228. Part of the property passed to Archbishop Friedrich III. After the death of Dorothea von Waldeck in 1425, an inheritance dispute arose, which Archbishop Pilgrim II. von Puchheim won, seizing the fief. As Mittersill Castle offered a stronger defensive structure, the Felberturm lost its military significance and was subsequently granted as a life annuity to deserving court officials.