Schloss Lichtenberg, Medieval castle in Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer, Austria.
Schloss Lichtenberg is a medieval hilltop castle above the town of Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer in Austria. The stone complex includes towers, walls, and inner courtyards that give it the layout of a classic Alpine fortification.
Lichtenberg is first documented in 1281, when Archbishop Friedrich II of Walchen gave it to his brothers Alberto and Otto after a dispute with the Kalhamer family. Historians place its origin before 1228, under the Counts of Plain. Destroyed in the 1526 peasant uprising, it was rebuilt by the Saalfelden court community, gaining its round southwest tower and a largely new form by 1580. Auctioned in 1870, it was bought by Adolf Ritter Weiß von Teßbach, whose family still owns it.
The castle's name comes from the Lichtenberg estate and its role as seat of the Pfleggericht Saalfelden-Lichtenberg, a district court administered by an archbishop's official. The court administrators were Salzburg nobles such as the Thurn, Hunt and Ramseider families. The building is privately owned by the Weiß von Teßbach family and closed to the public, so it can only be viewed from outside.
The castle is privately owned and closed to visitors, with no public access or viewing options; it stands on a rock spur about 60 metres above Saalfelden. It can only be seen from outside, from the town below.
The castle is privately owned by the Weiß von Teßbach family, who bought it at auction on 13 October 1870 for 8,340 guilders and gave it its present appearance. The whole grounds remain in family hands, and there is no public access or possibility of visiting.
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