Schloss Schernberg, Medieval castle in Schwarzach im Pongau, Austria

Schloss Schernberg is a castle situated on a hilltop two kilometers above Schwarzach im Pongau town center, overlooking the Salzach River valley. The complex includes the main structure alongside residential buildings and service facilities, now operating as a modern care residence.

The castle originated from a simple watchtower first mentioned in 1193 and was expanded into a fortified structure by the noble family between 1370 and 1550. In the 19th century, Cardinal Friedrich von Schwarzenberg purchased the deteriorated fortress and established a residential care facility.

The house is run by the Barmherzigen Schwestern vom hl. Vinzenz von Paul, whose mother house is now Haus St. Maria in Salzburg-Mülln; most staff today are not members of the order. The name St. Vinzenz-Heim replaced Versorgungsanstalt Schernberg in 1993. Thomas Bernhard passed the institution on walks during a stay at a nearby health resort, and it prompted his poetry collection Die Irren – Die Häftlinge, privately printed in Klagenfurt in 1962.

The former castle stands on a hill above Schwarzach im Pongau, on the left bank of the Salzach; the steep path up from the town is the only approach. The building is not open to visitors: it serves as the St. Vinzenz-Heim, a residential and day-care home for people with mental or multiple disabilities, run by the Barmherzigen Schwestern. The exterior can be viewed from the public path; a small pond with an island, listed as a natural monument, lies nearby.

On 21 April 1941 the Gestapo took 74 women and 41 men from the home; the large black buses could not climb the steep road, so they waited in Schwarzach and walking patients were driven down the hill. Sister Anna Bertha Königsegg was imprisoned twice for defending residents and later expelled from the country.