Wolfurt Castle - Schloss Wolfurt

Wolfurt Castle - Schloss Wolfurt, Wolfurt, Vorarlberg, Republic of Austria.

   Wolfurt Castle was first mentioned at the end of the first half of the 13th century (around 1217). The castle was the ancestral seat of the old and powerful family of ministeriales and knights, the "von Wolfurt." For two centuries, the family amassed great prestige before disintegrating at the beginning of the 15th century and beginning to sell off its holdings.

   In 1402, half of the castle passed to the Au Monastery (Mehrerau), but reverted to the monastery as a fief. After Paul von Wolfurt (1440), the family line died out; Hans von Gästras became the new owner. In 1451, the castle once again became a fief of the newly formed Archduchy of Austria. The liege lord was Heinrich Kaysermann, the Landammann (chief magistrate) of the Hofsteig court. The fief then passed to Hans Leber. The Leber grandsons were ennobled by Emperor Maximilian I in 1515. Ultimately, all members of the Leber family were entitled to bear the name "von Wolfurt." After 150 years of owning the castle, the family died out in 1653.

   The next lord of the manor was Johann Wilhelm Marius. The Reichart von Wolfurt und Wellenstein family held the fief until 1730. Afterward, the fief was sold to the Tröndlein-Greifenegg family from the Black Forest. In 1772, the farmer Johann Stadelmann from Wolfurt acquired the castle and all its associated properties for 3,600 guilders (approximately €48,000). At the beginning of the 19th century, the castle passed to Xaver Köb. In 1856, Wolfurt Castle was sold to the Huter family from Bregenz.

   The building was in very poor condition, as one lord of the manor was primarily concerned with maintaining a prestigious title of nobility, while the others were mainly interested in its agricultural use. The Huter family made great efforts to make the castle habitable again.

   In 1937, Dr. Fritz Schindler, one of Vorarlberg's most prominent industrialists, owned the castle. His great-grandfather, Samuel Wilhelm Schindler, founded what was then Vorarlberg's largest textile factory in 1836. His father, Friedrich Wilhelm Schindler, founded Elektra Bregenz and invented the first fully electric kitchen. In 1908, he built the largest waterworks in Austria-Hungary in Andelsbuch. These projects marked the beginning of today's VKW (Vorarlberg Power Company).

   In December 1939, the castle burned to the ground. This was the second time the castle had been destroyed by fire. The renowned architect Johann Anton von Tscharner was commissioned to rebuild it during the war. Since 2017, Wolfurt Castle has belonged to the municipality of Wolfurt. Today, the castle presents a formidable classical exterior while its interior reflects the style of the first half of the 20th century.

Source: https://www.wolfurt.at/system/web/gelbeseite.aspx?detailonr=225201421&menuonr=225117788