Ebenzweier Castle

Ebenzweier Castle is located in the municipality of Altmünster in the district of Gmunden in Upper Austria (Ebenzweier No. 17).

The former residence was originally the ancestral seat of the Schachner family, verifiable since 1292, the first of whom was the documented Ditmayr Schachner. Under Paul Schachner, the residence was referred to as Schachnerhof in 1380; due to these ownership conditions, the residence was formerly known simply as Schachen. The name Ebenzweier comes from the location description "next to the pond" (= Nebenzweyer, from which the name Ebenzweyer developed). But already the Schachners alternately called their residence Schachen or Nebenzweier. According to the Wallsee enfeoffment book of 1446, the Schachners were servants of the Lords of Ort. In 1526, a Hans Schachner is mentioned, and in 1550, Abraham Schachner. In the 16th century, the Schachners became Protestants. A Schachner named Abraham was even a pastor in Altmünster in 1564; from him, the property passed to his son of the same name in 1580. The Schachners had to leave the country because of their faith, and in 1626, Ebenzweier was confiscated by the sovereign.

In 1629, Christoph von Zedlitz briefly owned the dominion. He was followed by Abraham von Rohrbach. Regina, the widow of Abraham von Rohrbach auf Ebenzweyr, daughter of Jodokus "Jobst" Schmidauer von Ober-Wallsee and Cäcilia von Ramming, sold Ebenzweier to Thomas II von Seeau in 1633. In 1681, Johann Philibert von Seeau zu Mühlleuthen was Baron of Ebenzweier. In 1724, Ebenzweier came under forced administration due to high debts. In 1742, Count Josef Seeau had to publicly auction the property due to his debts. In 1743, Anton Nikolaus Franz Xaver von Seeau, Count zu Mühlleuthen, also died as the second and last Baron Seeau von Mühlleuten auf Ebenzweier. In 1767, Baron Elias Engl von Wagrein acquired Ebenzweier from the bankruptcy estate. After six years, the property was resold to Anton von Unkrechtsberg zu Puchberg. In 1801, the last Unkrechtsberg died without heirs, and the castle was put up for free sale. In 1802, Florian Max Clodi acquired the dominion of Ebenzweier from the estate. His heirs could not hold the large property for long and sold it to Archduke Maximilian Josef d'Este. He had the castle extensively renovated and converted into a country estate. After his death, his niece, Archduchess Maria Theresia, inherited the property. In 1891, she sold everything to Prince Don Jayme de Bourbon. In 1892, his successor was Alfonso von Bourbon.

In 1971, Prince Carlos Hugues de Bourbon donated the castle, which was in need of renovation, to the municipality of Altmünster. The current owner is the state of Upper Austria; the castle has been restored again and adapted as a boarding school for apprentice chefs. In 1986, a vocational school for the hospitality industry was also established here.