Wernstein Castle

Wernstein Castle is a castle complex in the municipality of Wernstein am Inn in Upper Austria. The castle is located on a granite rock directly next to the Inn river; opposite, on the Bavarian bank, lies Neuburg am Inn Castle.

Wernstein is first mentioned in documents in the 12th century and was built by the Counts of Formbach around 1126 as an outpost of Neuburg. Wernstein was never home to an independent noble family; instead, the lordship was always administered by castle bailiffs from Neuburg. In 1200, an Ortlof de propugnaculo (Ortlof from the outpost), who also called himself Ortlof ob der wer, is mentioned. From the Formbachers, Neuburg, including Wernstein, passed to the Counts of Andechs-Meran. As a dowry of an Agnes from this family, it came to the last Babenberg, Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Quarrelsome. After the divorce from Agnes, he had to return the property to the Andechs family. Premysl Ottokar II, who considered himself the rightful successor of the Babenbergs, forcibly occupied Neuburg and Wernstein in 1257. Eberhard von Wallsee redeemed the Passau pledge on the castles around 1355. In 1379, Duke Albrecht III pledged Neuburg and Wernstein to Otto von Zelking. In 1518, Emperor Maximilian I sold the County of Neuburg to Nikolaus Graf Salm. In 1654, the property passed to Count Ludwig von Sinzendorff. Then followed a change of ownership in 1698 to the Hamilton family and in 1719 to Count Carl Josef vom Lamberg. Through an exchange, Neuburg then came to the Diocese of Passau in 1731; Bishop Dominik Graf Lamberg was the brother of the previous owner. Until 1803 (secularization of the Prince-Bishopric of Passau), Wernstein shared the ownership history of the County of Neuburg and then passed into private ownership.

The castle, which had fallen into ruin, was extensively renovated between 1991 and 1993. It is now in the private possession of the Ernst Dietrich family and is not publicly accessible.