Wolfsberg - Schloss Wolfsberg, Austria
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Wolfsberg Castle (Carinthia) - Wikipedia
Wolfsberg Castle (Carinthia). External links[edit].
Wolfsberg Castle (German: Schloss Wolfsberg), today also Henckel-Donnersmarck Castle (Schloss Henckel-Donnersmarck), stands on a knoll in the north of the town of Wolfsberg in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
From 1007, the property belonged to the Bishopric of Bamberg. In 1178, a document from Saint Paul's Abbey mentioned the castle for the first times. This was the foundation for the creation of the eponymous settlement that rose to the status of a town in 1289. The castle was home to the vice-dominus who represented the bishop in local matters. It served as a residence from the second quarter of 14th century onwards until the sale in 1759 of the entire Bamberg estate, Carinthia, to the Austrian state. It was made up of two interconnected wings that were irregularly shaped and converted by Italian architects into a fortress in 16th century to protect against the Turks. The complex was also expanded with gates, towers, and domestic buildings. A bell tower was constructed in 1561.
Hugo Henckel von Donnersmarck was an industrial pioneer who bought the Wolfsberg barony in 1846. He wanted to use the hydropower and wood that the area offered, as well as the ironworks. The castle was converted by Hugo Henckel von Donnersmarck from 1847-1853 to a palace in English Tudor style, using two Viennese architects Johann Romano und August Schwendenwein. It also had an extravagantly decorated interior. The former Renaissance building is now almost gone.