Dinzlschloss

Schloss Mörtenegg stands in the Villach district of St Martin in Carinthia. The building began as a free farm belonging to the Khevenhüller family in the 15th century. Sigmund Khevenhüller raised the present three-storey cube in about 1550, adding corner turrets and decorative stonework. The castle passed through several owners: Hans Widmann in 1622, the Grotta von Grotteneggs in 1637, and Ignaz Dinzl after 1874. In 1944 Else Dinzl left it to the city of Villach, which used it as a youth hostel from 1953 until 2004. Today the building serves cultural and youth projects. Visitors enter beneath a small balcony bearing the coats of arms of Sigmund Khevenhüller and his wife. Inside, a vaulted hall shows marble capitals and a 1509 Pietà relief. A first-floor hall has ornate capitals and a Khevenhüller doorway, while the southern turret room has a stucco ceiling. Outside, two round towers flank the street front, and the north-east tower reveals 16th-century wall paintings.