Schloss Grünbühel, Protected castle in Kilb, Austria

Schloss Grünbühel is a three-story castle in Kilb with a rectangular floor plan and round corner towers on its front facades. The building displays five window axes on all elevations and sits on elevated ground.

Grünbühel was first documented in 1460, when Jörg von Pottendorf sold the Kilb estate to Bernhard von Tiernstein. After passing through the Starhemberg and Velderndorf families, Hans Velderndorf sold the fortress to Stift Göttweig in 1521 and bought it back in 1534. Jakob Gienger acquired it in 1549, and his son Nikolaus converted the fortress into a Renaissance castle. From 1720 the Counts of Wickenburg held it; in 1830 Karl Theodor von Wickenburg gave it its present Neoclassical appearance.

The name Grünbühel, also recorded as Grünbichl, refers to the green hill on which the castle stands west of Kilb. The building is still inhabited, and its chapel was demolished in 1829. North of the castle, a round tower remains from the former fortifications.

The castle is now a private residence and is not regularly open for visits. Visitors can appreciate the architecture and its location on elevated ground from the outside to understand the building's structure.

North of the castle stands a round tower, the last remnant of the former fortification that once enclosed the site. The chapel inside the castle was demolished in 1829, so this tower is the main surviving piece of the defensive works.