Kammerstein Castle

History is silent about the origin of the two castles Kammerstein and Ehrenfels. They were formerly known as Unter- and Oberkammern. They were probably built by the noble family of the Freien von Chamern. A Freier Arnold von Chamern already appears around 1120. However, some historians believe that they belong to the very old castles that originated under the Carolingians or were built for protection during the Hungarian threat.

The castle is dated to the 12th century. During this time, a noble family of the Hochfreien von Kammern is mentioned several times. Otto Ernvelser de Chamer, verifiable from 1260 to 1275, appears as a ministerialis of the Duke of Styria in the princely urbarium.

In 1290, the Ehrenfelsers had joined the noble uprising against Duke Albrecht of Habsburg and Abbot Heinrich II of Admont. In 1291, they opened their two castles to the Duke's enemies. In 1292, they also participated in the conspiracy at Deutschlandsberg. After the suppression of the uprising, King Albrecht I returned the castles to them. From the middle of the 14th century, the Ehrenfelsers had the castle administered by burgraves. The family died out with Hans von Ehrenfels in 1422. Afterwards, the Kraig family inherited the lordship. They also appointed caretakers for the castle guard.

From Wolfgang von Kraig, the lordship passed by purchase to Hans Süßenheimer in 1460, who resold it to Emperor Frederick III in 1464. In 1470, there is mention of the imperial castle Camer in the Camertal. An urbarium of the lordship of Chamer from the years 1492 and 1495 has been preserved. From the end of the 15th century, the lordship was granted by the Emperor on a lease or pledge basis. Heinrich von Hardegg (1499), Franz von Dietrichstein (1510), and Siegmund von Dietrichstein (1513) are to be named as pledge holders. In 1518, Emperor Maximilian I instructed von Dietrichstein to demolish the castle and to use the amount intended for its expansion for Ehrnau Castle. King Ferdinand I sold Ehrnau-Kammerstein to Siegmund von Dietrichstein in 1528. Already in 1542, the castle is described as dilapidated, and Vischer drew it as a ruin in 1681.

In 1564, Esther Pögl bought the lordship. In 1568, Caspar Breuner succeeded Baron Maximilian Breuner as the pledge holder of the lordship. In 1623, Emperor Ferdinand II gifted the lordship to Maximilian Baron von Breuner. Until 1802, the lordship was owned by the Breuner family. This was followed by the Galler (1827), the Lamberg (1852), the Liechtenstein (1872), and the Mayr-Melnhof (1882). Today, the estate is still owned by the Mayr-Melnhof family. The Kammerstein ruin was acquired by Konrad Maxl in 1912.