Feistritz Castle

In 1290, Otto and Friedrich von Leibnitz handed over a farm located here to Pilgrim the Peiger von Katsch. In the conflicts between Duke Albrecht and the Archbishop of Salzburg, this farm was likely destroyed around 1292. In 1334, Wulfing von Mitterdorf received permission from the Bishop of Freising to establish his residence here, which, however, was only partly made of stone, with the majority being wood.

In 1344, with episcopal permission, he expanded it into a fortified structure. Wulfing was a member of the Welzer family. In 1425, the estate passed to his relative Hans Welzer. In the 16th century, the late medieval fortified structure was expanded into a castle. Eva Maria Welzer, who was married to Baron Franz von Teufenbach, inherited the castle.

In 1630, she handed Feistritz over to her daughter Anna Leonore and her husband Georg von Schrottenbach. They sold it in 1645 to Hans Georg Sigmund Baron von Pranckh. In 1722, Maria Anna von Geilberg gifted the castle to the parish priest of St. Peter am Kammersberg, who sold it the very next year to Julius Baron von Neuhaus. After him, the owners, mostly commoners, changed quite frequently. Feistritz was acquired in 1913 by Archduke Karl, who became the last Austrian Emperor three years later. He gave it to his wife Zita as a morning gift.

It remained in the possession of the Habsburg family until World War II. In 1944, it served as a refugee camp. In 1949, the castle was returned to the former Empress Zita, but in 1950, it was leased to the state of Styria for five years. In 1955, the state government acquired it and now operates a vocational school for agriculture and nutrition there. Between 2010 and 2012, a general renovation of the building took place.