Biberstein Castle

Biberstein Castle, another spelling is Piberstein, stands at the southern entrance to Himmelberg.

The builder of the castle, Marchwart von Pybriach, has been documented as a regional judge in Himmelberg since 1382. In 1396, he was enfeoffed with the noble seat by Duke Wilhelm. In 1571, the castle passed to Georg Khevenhüller through an exchange of properties. In 1662, Katharina Countess Lodron acquired it for 118,000 guilders from the funds of the deceased Prince-Archbishop Paris Lodron as the seat of the secundogeniture. Since then, the property has been in the private possession of the Lodron family.

Architectural Description

The castle has a late medieval core. It was rebuilt several times in the 16th and 17th centuries. The three-story building with an open roof truss with ox-eye windows is built on an irregular floor plan and encloses a four-sided courtyard with 16th-century arcades on two sides and a mobile roof. The entrance to the castle with a covered staircase has a remarkable wrought-iron gate, which was assembled around 1920/1925 from baroque grave crosses of the 18th century.

On the ground floor, there are vaults with stucco ribs from the 16th century. The stucco ceiling in a room on the upper floor was probably created by Kilian Pittner around 1735. It depicts Diana and Actaeon, the Triumph of Dionysus, and Dionysus in Vulcan's forge.

A brick connecting passage leads across the street to the castle chapel. The altarpiece in the chapel shows the Adoration of the Magi and is a copy after Giovanni Lanfranco. Also noteworthy are the crucifix and the depiction of the Sacra Conversazione.

Several boundary stones are displayed in the castle courtyard. A boundary stone from 1612, originally located on the northern shore of Lake Ossiach and attributed to Martin Pacobello, marked the borders between the lordships of Ossiach, Prägrad, and Biberstein. Another stone marked 1603 was the boundary stone of the regional court of Himmelberg.