Rosenberg Castle

Rosenberg Castle is located in the heart of Zell am See town.Since 1970, it has served as the seat of the mayor and town administration of Zell am See. The building is conveniently situated on the Brucker Bundesstraße.The palace garden, palace park, and town hall park garage are all located nearby.

The architecture of the building resembles a typical Salzburg mansion. It is a four-storey structure with an almost square base. Each of the four corners has a corner bay, and the main facade facing east features a semi-circular central bay.The structure is topped with a sturdy hipped roof.

Rosenberg Castle was constructed in the late 16th century by two tradesmen, brothers Karl and Hans Rosenberger zu Rosenegg. The castle was built on a plot of land that was previously dedicated solely to agriculture, specifically as a wine fiefdom.Now, it is located in the center of the town of Zell am See.On February 14, 1577, the property was purchased by two builders from Balthasar Egger, a citizen of Zell, and his wife Regina Stainerin.

After the death of Hans Rosenberger in 1604, ownership of the castle was transferred to his three sons: Hans, Georg, and Hans Christoph.Georg passed away in 1614, and as a result of significant debts, Hans decided to sell his share to Hans Christoph in 1633. This transaction made Hans Christoph the sole owner.In 1640, he sold the castle to Freiherr Karl Khuen.Following his demise, Wolf Wilhelm Khuen’s son was unable to assume the inheritance due to illness. Consequently, the responsibility was passed on to his family members and brothers, Hans Sigmund and Erasmus Khuen von Belasy, in 1662.In 1670, after her death, the commissioned curators sold it to Freiherr Georg Dietrich Khuen zu Kammer.In 1706, the daughters of the owner transferred ownership of the castle to Maximilian Johann Preisgott Count Khuen zu Kammer und Prielau. Eventually, in 1716, Joseph Anton Jud, an innkeeper from Piesendorf, purchased the castle from him.

Afterwards, there were further renovations, but the castle was also somewhat neglected before it was sold to Johann Michael Silberer in 1762. Wolfgang Sigmund Jud, the son of the previous owner, was the one who sold it.He worked as a brewer and established an inn within the castle.However, as early as 1769, the property was once again sold, this time to a mining college from Salzburg. The college utilized the castle to accommodate their administrators.The most recent private owner of the property was Franz von Lürzer in 1820.

In 1842, the imperial-royal forestry office was relocated to Rosenberg from its previous location at Fischhorn Castle.From 1867, the building was under the ownership of the imperial-royal court. It served as the location for the district court of Zell am See until 1903.Since 1928, Rosenberg Castle has been owned by the Republic of Austria.The German Reich took over from 1941 to 1945, and from 1947 onwards, it served as the administrative headquarters of the Austrian Federal Forests.

In 1970, the municipality of Zell am See acquired the castle and carefully converted it into the town hall through meticulous construction work.It continues to serve this function even now.The building underwent a recent modernization between June and December 2009, which cost approximately 800,000 euros.