After Hochosterwitz and Fortress Landskron, Glanegg is the third largest military complex in Carinthia. The history of the castle is first documented in 1121. The first owner was the Duke Henry III of Carinthia. After his death in 1122 it was inherited by his nephew, Count Bernhard von Marburg and later Otakar III. His son, Duke Ottokar IV left the castle after his death in 1192 to Leopold V. From 1473-1478 the castle was threatened by the Turks, but they failed to capture the castle. After three more owners, in 1534, King Ferdinand I owned the castle, but he had to sell it to Ulrich von Ernau because of his debts.
In 1818 by the castle was purchased by Hofrichter Hirzegger Ossiach, whose daughter, Josephine, married Klinze Glanegg, who was given the castle as a wedding present. In 1860 the castle was sold to Bregenz Mayor Ferdinand Kinz. After three more owners, the castle Glanegg finally came to a family of twins, which now own the castle.
The building is composed of various architectural elements, ranging from Romanticism to Renaissance. What is striking is the entrance to the round tower. The decay of the castle began in the mid-19th century.
References:The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.