Feldsberg Castle

The predecessor building of Feldsberg Castle was the Hohenburg above Feldsberg. Feldsberg Castle was built as a simple Romanesque complex in the middle of the 12th century. The first documented mention was in 1189 by Hainricus de Veldisberc, a Salzburg ministerialis. The respective castellan was also responsible for jurisdiction until the end of the 16th century.

Feldsberg came to the Salzburgers through a donation from Bishop Altmann of Trent in 1142. In 1232, Count Meinhard of Gorizia sold the estate of Premersdorf near Feldsberg to Archbishop Eberhard of Salzburg, but took it back as a fief. He was probably also enfeoffed with Feldsberg Castle at that time, to which the Gorizians later claimed ownership rights. It was not until 1252 that Count Meinhard III had to commit to returning the "castrum Veltsperch" to Salzburg. Feldsberg always remained a bone of contention between Salzburg and Gorizia in the subsequent period. In 1308, it appears in the mutual non-aggression treaty between Archbishop Konrad and Count Albrecht of Gorizia. In 1372, Archbishop Ortlof pledged the castle to Achaz von Weisspriach.

From 1372, the sources are silent about the castle, which was already a ruin at least in the 16th century. In a feudal letter from 1658, the location of a farm is described as "behind the dilapidated Veldsberg Castle". In 1848, the state estate was parcelled out and taken over by farmers. The ruin is still privately owned. A dedicated association has taken on the preservation and securing of the castle ruin in recent years.

Image source: www.wehrbauten.at