Hartneidstein Castle

The castle was built around 1300 by Hartneid von Weißenegg. It was a fief of the Heunburgers, but Dietmar, Otto and Heinrich von Weißenegg already handed it over to Duke Heinrich of Carinthia in 1317, only to immediately receive it back from him as a princely fief.

Hartneidstein was also the seat of a regional court, which the Weisseneggers had inherited from the Counts of Heunburg. They sold both in 1331 to Ulrich von Wallsee. When Eberhard von Wallsee, the last of his family, died in 1363, he bequeathed Hartneidstein to his relatives, Counts Hermann and Ulrich von Cilli. However, as they were in constant feuds with the Diocese of Bamberg and even threatened Wolfsberg, the Duke of Carinthia intervened and forced a peace.

The Counts of Cilli had to exchange Hartneidstein for Bamberg's Mautenberg on the Drau in 1425. A Bamberg regional judge held office at Hartneidstein, but towards the end of the 17th century, he moved to the much more conveniently located Wolfsberg. In 1724, the keep was re-roofed, but soon after, the decay began.

The castle remained in the possession of the Prince-Bishopric until the sale of the Bamberg possessions in Carinthia to Empress Maria Theresia in 1759. When Hartneidstein and Wolfsberg were acquired by the Rosthorn brothers in 1825, it was long since a ruin. In 1846, Hugo Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck took over the lordship of Wolfsberg. His family still owns the castle there and the forests around Hartneidstein today.