Castle ruin Pichl

The Burgruine Pichl stands on a terrace above the Taurach valley in the Lungau region of Salzburg. It was once a square residential and defensive tower built by the Lords of Pichl, first mentioned in 1123. The ruins include a four-storey section of rough stone wall with rounded tufa windows from nearby Weißpriach.

The tower passed through many hands over the centuries, from the Waldecker family in the 14th century to the Tannhauser line in the 15th. In 1526, during the Salzburg Peasants’ War, troops led by Franz von Tannhausen lost two hundred men near the Tauern Pass. The tower was set alight in revenge and lay empty until 1546. Later owners added a granary and cellar in the 19th century.

Today the remains show the original tower walls and later farm buildings. A small chapel beside the ruins houses wooden figures of Saint George and Saint Florian. The Suppankapelle, built in 1872 and rebuilt in brick in 1960, shelters salvaged baroque altars from Mariapfarr church.