Castle Kienburg (derived from the old German word "bold") is the ruin of a hilltop castle in East Tyrol on the southern edge of the Iseltal and lies between Huben and Sankt Johann in the woods in the village Kienburg, about halfway from Lienz to Matrei on a rocky hill.
The castle was first mentioned around the year 1000.
Owners were the Counts of Lechsgemünd. In 1212 she came to the Bishopric
of Salzburg. Ownership and interests brought war and devastation to the
castle in the mid-13th century. Philipp von Spanheim, Archbishop of
Salzburg, was in conflict with Emperor Frederick II. Fearing that his
troops would invade the Enns Valley, the Archbishop took the imperial
castles as a preventive measure. Count Meinhard III. von Gorizia, who
was on the emperor's side, then attacked Matrei and Virgen three times
and plundered the villages. In 1252, the conflict was finally settled by
the Treaty of Lieserhofen, through which the Virgen Fortress went to
Salzburg and Matrei Castle had to be returned. However, the Kienburg
remained controversial in the years that followed and kept changing
hands.
The castle existed until 1579. Around this time, a fire
destroyed the robber baron's castle, after which it became uninhabitable
and the last knight (Count Christoph von Kienburg) abandoned it. The
area later became Austrian national territory until it became privately
owned by the Wanner family in 1825 and finally on October 1, 1936 by the
Stocker family. At the end of the Second World War in 1945 a bomb
dropped by an American plane fell on the castle ruins and destroyed the
main part including the tower. The ruin is currently being renovated to
stop the decay.
The floor plan of the Kienburg consists of a courtyard
surrounded by a curtain wall in the south and the residential wing
projecting from the Bering in the north. The wall itself consists of
laid quarry stone with opus spicatum layers inserted. It most likely
dates from the 12th century.
Todays use
The property is
privately owned by the Stocker family. Forestry is the main activity on
the approximately 103-hectare area. In addition to the castle ruins on a
hill, there are five other buildings and a natural pond. Below the
buildings is the so-called hay bath, a wellness facility designed by
Ferdinand Stocker Sr. is operated.