Ulrichskirchen Castle

Around 1100, a Wecala von Ulrichskirchen is first mentioned in a document. In 1195, Heinrich von Ulrichskirchen was allowed to build a new castle on a meadow he had previously acquired, with the consent of St. Pölten Abbey. Previously, there was a small fortified complex on the site of the present church, but this came to Heiligenkreuz Abbey, which had it demolished.

In 1256, the provost of St. Pölten enfeoffed Hermann von Wolkersdorf with the younger castle. Ulrichskirchen was then first referred to as "castrum". Hermann soon also called himself after Ulrichskirchen. His descendants died out around 1300. Around 1320, a Hermann von Kronberg had the original fortified building demolished and a significantly larger castellated castle built in its place.

Hermann belonged to the ministeriales or even to the relatives of the Lords of Ulrichskirchen-Wolkersdorf. The new castle was probably barely finished when it was conquered by King John of Bohemia in 1328. The Lords of Kronberg are likely to have died out around 1340. In 1371, Duke Albrecht III enfeoffed the brothers Wolfgang and Hans Streun zu Schwarzenau with the lordship. In the 1380s, Ulrichskirchen came into the possession of the Nikolsburg line of the Liechtensteins. Through marriage, the castle fell to Reinprecht von Wallsee in 1399. This was followed by the Dachsberg (1399), the Pottendorfer (1422) and the Starhemberg. In 1460, Ulrichskirchen was attacked by the troops of the Bohemian King George of Podiebrad, but they failed to storm the complex.

In 1544, the lordship fell to Christoph von Zelking as a dowry. He was probably responsible for the expansion into a Renaissance moated castle. In the 17th century, the owners changed quite rapidly. In 1620, Moravian troops burned down Ulrichskirchen. In 1624, Hans von Kollonitsch inherited the lordship. He immediately began rebuilding, enlarged the castle and had it surrounded by mighty earthworks. In 1645, Ulrichskirchen again fell by inheritance to Seifried Christoph von Breuner. Philip Ignaz von Breuner transformed the former Renaissance castle into a well-kept 18th-century country estate between 1713 and 1723. Through the Counts Breuner, the lordship came to Margarethe Countess Dietrichstein in 1734. In 1782, a large fire in the living quarters destroyed the baroque furnishings, but the exterior was also affected. Afterwards, the building was restored in simpler forms. The next change of ownership took place in 1786, when Walpurga Countess Salm inherited the property. During the Napoleonic Wars, the castle served several times as a field hospital.

In 1810, the Bartenstein family bought the lordship. The castle was again restored. Through Ludovica von Bartenstein, the Gudenus family came into possession of the lordship around 1860. Theresia Countess Hardegg owned the castle in the first half of the 20th century. At the end of the Second World War (1945), the castle was severely damaged. However, the damage was completely repaired. In 1952, Ulrichskirchen came through marriage to the current owners, the Counts Bulgarini de Elci. In 1971, the building was renovated and the facades were re-plastered.