Burg Kranichberg

Kranichberg Castle is a castle on the hill about 5 km southeast of Gloggnitz in the Katastralgemeinde Kranichberg in the market town of Kirchberg am Wechsel in the district of Neunkirchen in Lower Austria.

The former fortified castle is a three-story building with a roughly square plan, has a five-storey keep and was probably built in the early 13th century. The complex also includes a large outdoor bailey, through which the road from Gloggnitz on the Ramssattel leads to Kirchberg.

Already around 1150 a Siggefridus de Craneberch appears in the documents. The castle was owned by the lords of Kranichberg (Ministerial of the Counts of Formbach and Pitten). The family also owned property on the Danube, in the Waldviertel and in the Mühlviertel. After the termination of the session on the Kranichberg branch 1352 Ulrich II is cited by Wallsee-Graz as the owner of the estate. 1363 followed Leutold von Stadeck. The daughter of the last Stadecker married the 1400 Ulrich von Montfort. His father was the well-known minstrel Hugo von Montfort. After 1420 Kranichberg was already sovereign and repeatedly promised.

In 1480 the castle was occupied by the Hungarian king Mattia Corvino and after the peace of Bratislava in 1491 it was restored. In 1602, the court chamber sold the property to Hans Unterholzer, who had them handled by attendants. 1661 Johann Franz Graf Lamberg took possession of the castle. In 1745, a fire destroyed much of the complex, including the front and the west wing. The then owner Anton Franz Adam Graf von Lamberg rebuilt the complex partly in Baroque style and sold it in 1769 to the Archdiocese of Vienna. During the Second World War, the castle was used as a quarter for the mainly German Aussiedlers of the Dobrudscha. In 1970 the establishment was sold by the Archdiocese to a new owner, followed by a multiple ownership change.

For the structure, a doll and toy museum is expected in the near future and a meeting place for art and culture on the premises.