Bidenegg Castle

Bidenegg Castle, also known as Biedenegg, Bideneck, Biedeneck, and referred to as a fortress, is a castle in the Tyrolean municipality of Fließ in western Austria.

The history of the castle's origin is obscure. Bideneck appears relatively late in documented history, namely in 1339 with "Heinrich der Potzner von Pybenekke". He likely belonged to the Rottenburg family. However, as early as 1160, ministeriales dependent on Tarasp or the Bishopric of Chur named themselves after the neighboring town of Fließ. It is therefore quite conceivable that a predecessor building already existed here in the 12th century.

Heinrich der Potzner bequeathed the castle to his nephew Georg von Schrofenstein in 1353. The latter sold it to several individuals in 1378. In 1427, it was back in one hand, that of the Sigwein family. In 1499, Bernhard Sigwein was the feudal lord. He was the last male descendant of his family.

In 1501, King Maximilian enfeoffed the brothers Rueland and Sigmund von Schrofenstein with Bideneck. Over the next 45 years, the living comfort of the castle was primarily improved. When the Schrofenstein family also died out with Georg Philip in 1546, the fief fell to Hans Trautson, Baron zu Sprechenstein. After only six years, he sold the lordship to Erasmus Heidenreich. Through inheritance, it came to Isac Andre Benedikt von Pach in 1693, whose family owned Bideneck until 1994. In the years prior, a snack bar had been set up on the ground floor of the palas and expanded into a bed and breakfast to make the restoration costs more bearable. Finally, in 1994, the Tyrolean industrialist Kommerzialrat Hans Pöll bought the castle and continued the restoration work.