Burgruine Silberberg

The ruins of Silberberg castle stand on a rocky, wooded summit three kilometres north of St Martin am Silberberg in the Carinthian municipality of Hüttenberg. The remains of the medieval fortress are protected as a listed monument. The fortress was built where prehistoric and Roman finds have been made and where silver and iron ore were once mined. First mentioned in 1214, the Silberberg family held the castle until 1756. Members of the family served the dukes of Carinthia, the archbishop of Salzburg and the monastery of Göss, often becoming embroiled in feuds. By the mid-16th century the family had converted to Protestantism and stripped the chapel of its religious furnishings. The present ruins, at about 1,138 metres above sea level, date largely from the 16th century. Valvasor’s 1688 engraving still shows a complete castle with a Romanesque keep, two residential wings set at an angle and a separate gatehouse. Today only scattered stretches of wall survive, covered in dense vegetation, with traces of both Romanesque and Gothic masonry.