Aichelberg Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Wernberg, Austria

Aichelberg Castle is a castle ruin on an 850 m spur in the Ossiacher Tauern, north-east of Wernberg. Its standing masonry is mainly from the 16th century: a four-storey residential block with large windows and a three-storey gate tower with a projecting round turret. A walled forecourt protects the southern approach; the old bergfried was demolished in the 16th century.

The Aichelberg family is documented from 1224, when Reinher de Eychelberc appears in the written record. In 1431 Duke Ernest pledged the stronghold to Hans Khevenhüller, and four years later it became the family's first freehold. The late-Romanesque core was damaged in 1484 during Emperor Frederick III's war with King Matthias Corvinus, and the Khevenhüllers rebuilt it around 1500 as an artillery-resistant residence.

The castle's name comes from the Eychelburg family, documented from 1224, whose tournament knight Reinher de Eychelberc gave the site his name. The Khevenhüller, who acquired it in 1431, made Aichelberg their first freehold residence. Since 2022 guided ruin walks present the conserved site and its medieval building phases to visitors.

The path to the ruins winds uphill from the valley to the plateau and requires good physical stamina for the climb. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and allow plenty of time, as the ascent can be demanding.

The castle's masonry suggests an earlier fortification, but the written record begins in 1224 with the tournament knight Reinher de Eychelberc, whose family took its name from the site. The old bergfried was demolished in the sixteenth century, probably to clear the summit rock for a gun platform.