Etzelsdorf Castle, Renaissance château in Pichl bei Wels, Austria.

Etzelsdorf is a two-storey Renaissance castle at the western edge of Pichl bei Wels, covered by a broad Schopfwalm roof. Two freestanding farm buildings flank it, enclosing the courtyard in a horseshoe shape. A stucco band runs along the roof edge of the plain facade, and the rear first-floor windows have wrought-iron baskets. The entrance opens into a stone-paved hall.

The exact construction date is unknown; the predecessor stood on an island in a round pond behind today's building and burned around 1551. In the 14th century the Eczelstorffer family is recorded, and the estate passed through the Jörger, Struz, Gera and Wagrain families. In 1626 the castle was plundered and burned in the Peasants' War; Christoph Schmidtauer had it rebuilt in its present form.

The castle passed in 1901 to Anna von Unkrechtsberg, who left it to her longtime cook Josefa Pühringer; Pühringer in turn handed it to her daughter Maria Nöbauer. Maria's husband Ignaz had grown rich through a lottery win. The family Jeitschko from Linz owns the castle today and lives in it; the courtyard can be visited on request.

The castle sits on the western side of Pichl bei Wels and is visible from outside, though interior access is not regularly available. Visitors can view the exterior architecture and courtyard layout, and it makes sense to combine a visit with nearby historical sites in the area.

In summer 1944 the National Socialist People's Welfare set up a "Fremdvölkisches Kinderheim" (home for children of foreign forced labourers) at the castle. At least 13 of the 39 children kept there died in autumn 1944 from poor care and nutrition; the infants were tied into their beds and two-year-olds could not walk after liberation. Some children were returned to their mothers after 1945, but mix-ups occurred because the children had never been addressed by name.