Wasserleonburg Castle

Wasserleonburg Castle is a castle in the Nötsch cadastral community of Saak in Carinthia, located on a plateau above Nötsch at the foot of the Dobratsch.

The predecessor building of the castle, which was located east of the current complex, was first mentioned in a document in 1253 as a Bamberg fief and was referred to as "Löwenburg", "Lewenburch" or "Leumburg", to which the Nötsch coat of arms also refers. The castle was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1348. The earthquake also triggered a landslide on the Dobratsch, after which the Gail below the castle dammed up into an elongated lake; the name "Wasserleonburg" probably originated as a result of this event.

In the second half of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, a new building was erected; the oldest part of the current complex is the keep in the east wing. In 1522, the Villach merchant Wilhelm Neumann bought the Wasserleonburg dominion with all its appurtenances such as authorities, freedoms, fishing rights, etc. from the brothers Hans, Andrä and Christoph von Ungnad, Lords of Sonnegg. Anna von Liechtenstein, née Neumanin, inherited the property from her mother in 1572, which she managed for five decades. After her death, Wasserleonburg came into the possession of her great-great-grandnephew Georg Philipp Proy von Burgwalden in 1635 after a decades-long inheritance process.

The oldest parts of the complex were extended to the west in the 16th/17th century. The late Mannerist courtyard facade, built around 1650, is significant. The chapel dates from around 1753/54 and was built at the same time as the very decoratively designed horse stable, which today serves as a representative event hall. The Renaissance arcaded courtyard and the castle chapel are noteworthy. From June 5 to September 7, 1937, the abdicated English King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) and his wife Wallis Warfried-Simpson spent their honeymoon here.

Wasserleonburg is privately owned and can be visited by groups by prior arrangement. The castle courtyard, chapel, dining room and outbuildings are rented out for events.