Piber Castle

The castle was allegedly built on the site of the old Eppenstein fortress, situated on a wide hill that only needed to be secured to the north by a wide moat. The castle in its current form is an extensive 17th-century building, laid out as a regular quadrangle around a very large arcaded courtyard. The three-story building with four three-window corner risalits was built between 1696 and 1728 in the style of Domenico Sciassia. The old castle was protected by a defensive wall and a fortress belt. In 1696, the entire castle was demolished and a new one was built at great expense; at that time, it was the largest construction project in the Voitsberg district. However, depictions from 1647 and 1681 (Georg Matthäus Vischer) show that the old tavern (today Gasthaus Ritoper), the eastern wing of the old castle, remained untouched. The current castle has a main and a side portal. The arcaded courtyard, the facades, and the Baroque stucco ceilings were last restored in 1970/71.

The oldest court in Piber was probably built after 1000 as a solid stone house, secured with a wall and moat, presumably on the site of the current castle. After the donation of Lambrecht Abbey in 1103, servants of the abbey were appointed as administrators (provosts) at the castle, the first being Otto von Piber. Nothing remains of this fortified building. The former rectory was converted into a fortified complex and gate tower in 1490. In 1786, St. Lambrecht Abbey was dissolved, and the Piber provostry became a state dominion.

In 1798, a stud farm was established for breeding military horses. From 1867, the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Agriculture became the owner. Before 1915, the focus shifted to breeding Lipizzaners, which until then had been based at the Lipizza stud farm in Slovenia and were moved to Piber in 1920. During World War II, all horses were housed in Czechoslovakia. The horses were then first moved to Upper Austria, and only in 1952 did some of the horses return to Piber. In 2001, the Spanish Riding School - Piber Federal Stud was founded and, together with Piber Castle, placed under monument protection.

In 2003, the castle was the exhibition venue for the Styrian Provincial Exhibition "Mythos Pferd" (Myth of the Horse), for which extensive renovation and refurbishment work was carried out in the castle. The historic granary was renovated and revitalized. Since 1980, castle concerts have also taken place, organized by the cultural department of the city of Köflach.