Burg Sommeregg

Burg Sommeregg
Carinthia, Austria
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Type	Castle
Site history
Built	ca 1187
Built by	Witemarus von Sommeregg
Battles/wars	War with Matthias Corvinus in 1487
Events	"Ritterspiele"
Garrison information
Past commanders	Virgil von Graben, Andreas von Graben

Burg Sommeregg is a castle in Seeboden, Carinthia, Austria. Burg Sommeregg is situated at an altitude of 749 m.

History

The castle was probably built in the 12th century, as one Witemarus de Sumereke was already mentioned in an 1187 deed issued at Neustift Abbey. The burgraves (castellans) of Sommeregg served as ministeriales of the Counts of Ortenburg, on 29 May 1275 the marriage of Countess Euphemia of Ortenburg with Count Albert I of Gorizia was arranged here.

When the Ortenburgers became extinct in 1418, their Carinthian possessions passed to the Counts of Celje, who left the administration to local stadtholders. In 1442 Andreas von Graben by marriage acquired the burgraviate and Sommeregg Castle became a residence of the Von Graben von Stein family. They maintained the title as Viscounts of Sommeregg even when the former Ortenburg possessions fell to the Austrian House of Habsburg, after the last Count Ulrich II of Celje had been murdered in 1456. During the term of Virgil von Graben, the castle was destroyed by Hungarian forces under King Matthias Corvinus on his campaign against the Habsburg emperor Frederick III.

Through Virgil's niece Rosina, Sommeregg passed to the Bavarian Lords of Rain. In 1550 it was purchased by the Khevenhüller noble family.

Lords of Sommeregg

Time	Owner	Lord and Viscount of the Fief
1187–1418	Counts of Ortenburg	until 1338 Lords of Sommeregg, later the Families Von Treffen, Steierberger, Maltteiner, Von Katsch and Hallegger
1418–1456	Counts of Celje	Family Von Hallegg, since 1442 Lords Von Graben von Stein as Burggrafen (Viscounts)
1456–1628	House of Habsburg	Lords Von Graben (von Stein), since 1509 Georg and Rosina Goldacher, Haymeran von Rain zu Sommeregg and Rosina von Graben von Rain, since 1550 Christoph Khevenhüller von Aichelberg and his following
1628–1651	Landlord Count Hans Wittmann
1651–1932	Counts / Family Von Lodron
1932–1940	Josef Penker
1940–1969	Josef Riebler / Daughter Helene as Baroness Rosenberg de la Marre
1969–1992	Family Elfi / Andreas Egger
1992-	Family Riegler

See also

• List of castles in Austria

References

This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.

• (de) Burg Sommeregg