Rosenegg Castle

Rosenegg Castle (Steyr) is located in the Pergern district of the municipality of Garsten in the Steyr-Land district of Upper Austria (Steyr-Unterhimmel).

Rosenegg Castle originated from a farm, which was called "Weng auf dem Aettgraben" or Baumannsgut in 1383 and was the free property of Hartneid von Losenstein. The feudal lords of Wenig until 1384 were the Steyr town citizens of Velber. Peter von Losenstein donated the free-owned farmstead, including the manor, to Garsten Abbey. In 1384, Hans Lörlein bought the seat from the brothers Martin and Konrad Velber and was subsequently enfeoffed with it by the Abbot of Garsten. In 1572, Achaz Höhenfelder zu Aistersheim, castle warden of Steyr, sold the estate to Hannsen von der Pruckhen ("de Ponte"). After his death, his son Andreas († 1584) inherited the seat. In 1568, he managed to obtain the liberation of the estate from the authority of Garsten Abbey and its elevation to a free noble seat by Emperor Maximilian II. From then on, the seat was called "Rosenegg". In 1572, the old farm was demolished and the new castle was built. Andreas' wife, Barbara Klara de Ponte, née Eisengreinin von Richtenfels, married Wolf Christoph Seepacher von Seebach († 1590), court judge in Mondsee, in 1587. When he died in 1590, she married the court servant Melchior Ster. In 1597, Barbara received a confirmation of the previously issued charter from Emperor Rudolf II. In 1608, the Ster couple sold the property to Veit Spindler von Hofegg, who, however, passed it on in the same year to the imperial court and war paymaster Hans Roßner. After his death, Rosenegg went through a judicial settlement to Wolf Christoph, Barbara Ster's son from her second marriage to Wolf Christoph von Seepach. However, he was heavily indebted and so in 1621 he had to sell the property to Garsten Abbey, which thus became the owner of Rosenegg again after a 60-year interruption. After the city fire of Steyr, Rosenegg served as a refuge for the Cistercian nuns in 1727/28.

During the time of Emperor Joseph II, Rosenegg was confiscated for the religious fund. However, no buyer was found for a short time. From 1785, the tower room of the castle was used as a school, which was moved to Christkindl in 1787. In 1792, the paper manufacturer Michael Würze bought the castle. Subsequently, Rosenegg frequently changed owners, including the Hofmann family, Barth, Count Waldstein, Schlesinger (1878). In 1909, Mrs. Schlesinger sold the property to Franz Werndl and his family. He was followed by Hedwig Werndl (1918), Josef Werndl, Leopoldine Hofmann, née Werndl, and Viktor Werndl (1938). In 1947, Friederike Peller and Anna Beringer followed, in 1950 Viktor Werndl and in 1951 Alice Gamisch and Belle von Ehrenberg. The current owner is Ilona von Ronay.