Einödberg Castle

Einödberg Castle (also Ainödberg) is a small manor house in the municipality of Mittersill, a town in Oberpinzgau.

Einödberg Castle stands on a low rocky ridge on the sunny slope of the Salzach valley. It is located next to the medieval trade route on the left bank of the Salzach in the cadastral community of Spielbichl in Mittersill. Today, the tracks of the Pinzgau Local Railway run below the castle.

Construction History

At the core of the current building is still the small residential tower from the 13th century, comparable to the Felberturm and the Weyerturm. In a first phase of renovation, this tower was enlarged by means of a narrow extension. Turrets at the four corners of the building resulted in its transformation into a Gothic manor. Towards the end of the 16th century, a wide, farmhouse-like wing was added to the east, which necessitated the removal of the two turrets on the east side. The building form that emerged at that time has essentially been preserved to this day. Only in the 1960s was an attempt made to convert the building, which was used as a farmhouse, into a guesthouse, which led to enlarged windows and a changed interior layout. For structural reasons, a draw well, which had been preserved in the room at the south-east corner and was equipped with a large wooden wheel, also fell victim to this renovation. It was filled in 1969.

Line of Owners

The Ainoder family, Dietmar, Wolfram, and Albero, first mentioned between 1150 and 1230, originated from Pinzgau, but cannot be definitively assigned to Einödberg Castle. The first reliable mention in connection with the castle is from 1427, when Hans Hunt zu Dorf – referring to Dorfheim Castle near Saalfelden – received the manor as a fief from Archbishop Eberhard III. von Neuhaus (or from Archbishop Eberhard IV. von Starhemberg). When his numerous possessions were divided after his death, his son from his second marriage, Wolfgang, received Dorfheim and Einödberg. His only son Peter († 1534) was the first to call himself "von Einödberg und Dorfheim". He was probably the one who carried out the expansion of the medieval residential tower and had the corner turrets added. After his death, his still underage children followed him in the list of owners, but since his eldest son was simple-minded, Reichhart Hunt became the owner of Einödberg Castle. His wife was a daughter of Hans Hackl zu Saal, referring to Saalhof Castle in Maishofen. In 1590, Einöd came to his younger brother Karl, who died childless in 1630. Now his two nieces – their father was Josef Hunt – inherited, of whom Helena Margarethe Hunt, married to Wolf Dietrich von Welsperg, administrator in Mauterndorf, sold Einödberg Castle to Abraham Welser. The Welsers were ennobled in 1593 and were henceforth called "Welser zu Wagrain". From Abraham Welser, the property passed to his son Adam in 1635. He succeeded in reuniting the associated estates with Einödberg Castle in 1644. From 1641, the Welsers also called themselves "von Einödberg". Adam Welser was succeeded jointly by his two sons Johann Franz and Johann Karl, and from 1679, Johann Franz became the sole owner through a settlement with his brother. Through transfer, his son Johann Melchior Welser came into possession of Einödberg. From him, his three children received the property in 1729. In 1733, they offered to sell the property to the Archbishop for 4,000 guilders, but this deal did not materialize due to its remoteness. In 1734, the administrator of Windisch-Matrei, Wolfgang Adam Lasser von Zollheim, bought the property and gave it to his son Wolf Adam Ignaz Lasser in 1771. After 1773, he sold the castles Einödberg, Grub, and Ramseiden to Johann Jakob Waltenhofer, administrator in Sankt Johann im Pongau. His heirs sold Einödberg in 1791 to Vital Mayr, court clerk in Windisch-Matrei. From then on, there were rapid changes of ownership among farmers, and Einödberg is still agricultural property today.