Ruine Oberwallsee

The ruins of Oberwallsee stand on the partly wooded Klausberg above the Pesenbach valley. Built between 1364 and about 1386, it was later turned into a small palace around 1600. By the mid-18th century most of the main castle and parts of the outer ward had been abandoned, while a small farmhouse in the outer ward remained in use. The fortress once belonged to the Wallseer family, who gave it their name after receiving permission from Duke Albrecht V in 1415. After changing hands several times—through the Schaunbergers, Hofmanns, Eggenbergs and Starhembergs—it lost its role as an administrative centre in 1717. The Starhembergs moved their offices to Eschelberg, and the site gradually fell into decay until rescue work began in 1958. Visitors today see the remains of the high castle with its four-storey palace, chapel and courtyard, all arranged in a broken rectangular plan. The palace basement still shows a large hall with a medieval ribbed vault and a stone arch that once carried the floor above. The chapel, originally a two-bay room with an eight-sided apse, was later given a Baroque interior. The outer ward, shaped like a half-circle, is surrounded by a curtain wall with two gatehouses; the northern gatehouse still stands, while the southern one collapsed in the 19th century.