Wels Castle

The Imperial Castle of Wels is a palace-like castle in the southeast of the city center of Wels, Upper Austria, and is now used for museum purposes.

In 776, the castle is mentioned in connection with the settlement of Wels as "Castrum Uueles". The castle was initially a wooden structure with palisades and was only built of stone in the 12th or 13th century. At the end of the 12th century, it was pledged to Leopold VI, Duke of Austria, of the Babenberg dynasty, who then purchased it in 1222. After the extinction of the Babenberg dynasty, the castle came into the possession of the Habsburgs.

Under Emperor Maximilian I, who died in the castle on January 12, 1519, the castle was rebuilt in the late Gothic style from 1508 to 1514. In 1653, the Roman-German King Ferdinand IV gifted the castle to Prince Johann Weikhard von Auersperg. In 1865, the castle was sold by the Auerspergs to the lard renderer Ludwig Hinterschweiger, who had the east wing added. Around 1900, it came into the possession of the Blaimschein family, and in 1937, the building was acquired by the City of Wels.

Currently, the building is used by the City of Wels as a cultural center and houses, among other things, the Austrian Pastry Museum, the Museum of Displaced Persons, as well as the City History and Agricultural History Collections.