Freundorf Castle

The ownership of the current castle or its predecessor in its early days is not entirely clear. The fertile soil of the Tullnerfeld was divided among numerous large landowners in the Middle Ages. It is therefore not surprising that there were also several offices in Freundorf and various free estates for their protection and administration. As early as 1078, King Henry IV gifted an estate in Frigendorf, first mentioned in a document at that time, to Sigiboto von Bornheim. The Bornheim family, in turn, transferred land to the St. Nicola monastery in Passau and in 1140 to the Aegidius Hospital in St. Pölten. The landowners included the Lords of Zelking as well as the Bishopric of Passau and that of Freising. In 1460, Rudiger von Starhemberg acquired several plots of land in the vicinity, which he consolidated into a separate Freundorf office. In 1587, Paul Jakob von Starhemberg sold this office to his brother-in-law Helmhart Jörger, who owned the neighboring Judenau lordship. Around 1650, a new free estate is reported, which was owned by Joseph von Orelli around 1656. The current castle is likely to have emerged from it. In 1717, Maria Anna Clara von Orelli sold the estate to Maria Franciska Freiin Pfundner von Pfundensheim. Her nephew and heir Anton von Sala sold it in 1743 to the imperial accountant Johann Samuel Mayer. The subsequent and frequently changing owners included Lorenz Rubini von Poltenstein (1783), Freiin Carola Magdalena Christine von Passewitz (1784), and the noble Joseph von Voglhuber (1801). The free estate only acquired its castle-like character in the 19th century. In 1864, the building passed to Alois Zell and Ludwig Schwarz. In the first half of the 20th century, a Duke of Beaufort lived here. In 1951, Leopold and Anna Knopfhardt acquired the castle. It is still owned by their family today.

Freundorf Castle is located in the middle of the village but is not very conspicuous, as it is hidden behind a wall and set back structurally. The original access was on the main street, but the iron gate there, located between two vase-decorated pillars, has not been used for a long time. The area behind it is designed as a garden. The current access is in Kirchengasse. The castle dates from the 17th century but was heavily altered in the 19th century. It has a hook-shaped floor plan. The elongated two-story wing in the south adjoins a three-axis and three-story residential building from the 19th century, to which a likewise two-story former utility wing is attached. The show facade of the residential building faces north. Its windows are decorated with ornate parapets and triangular or straight pediments. The building edges are emphasized by rusticated plasterwork. The south wing has an arcaded walk on the courtyard side, resting on pillars and Tuscan columns. A gallery runs along it, supported by wooden pillars. At the rear end of the courtyard, an open staircase leads up to the gallery. The east wing is similarly designed, but here the ground-floor arcades are closed. A basket-arch passage here provides access to the northern garden. In the south, a spacious park area extends behind the castle.