Schloss Stein

Schloss Stein stands in the village of Stein, part of St. Marien in Upper Austria’s Linz-Land district. The site began as a medieval fortress, seat of the lords of Stein, whose name appears in 12th-century charters alongside Otakar III of Steyr and bishops of Würzburg. By 1304 it had passed to the Kerschberger family, then to the Kuenburgers, who held it until the early 16th century. Later owners included the Volkensdorfers, the Tillys, and the Montforts before the estate reached the Weichs family in 1730. The castle’s three-storey great hall once overlooked a large pond, with a two-storey annexe attached. After 1848 only a farmhouse and stable survived the demolition, yet the memory of further buildings remains in the village. A small lake now marks the former pond, and the partly restored farmyard offers the only visible traces of the medieval complex. Visitors find a quiet courtyard where the old farm buildings have been partly repaired. A low stone wall runs beside the remaining pond, and the lane still bears the name of the smithy that once served the castle. The site is quiet, with no grand ruins, yet it preserves the outline of a place once at the centre of local power and law.