The castle ruins of Weyer () , also known as ''Weyerturm'' or ''Weyerhofburg'', are the

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of a

hillside castle A hillside castle is a castle built on the side of a hill above much of the surrounding terrain but below the summit itself. It is thus a type of hill castle and emerged in Europe in the second half of the 11th century. As a result of the particu ...

at 816 m above sea level in the municipality of

Bramberg am Wildkogel Bramberg am Wildkogel is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg, Austria. The town lies at the south foot of the high Wildkogel mountain. The town's average elevation is . History In ancient time ...

, in the district of

Bezirk Zell am See The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region (). The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), a ...

in Salzburger Land (west of the village of Bramberg, approx. 25 meters above the Weyer estate). The tower is typical of the small castles in the

Pinzgau The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region (). The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), and population dens ...

, of which only the Felber Tower in

Mittersill Mittersill (; ) is a city in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, in the Pinzgau region of the Alps. It is located on the Salzach River. It has a population of 5,408 as of 2011. Geography Mittersill lies approximately 25 km to the west o ...

has been preserved. The castle guarded the entrance to the Habachtal, where the only emerald occurrence in Europe was located.

History

The first owners seem to have been the lords of Weyer; called Rapoto de Wiare (1130), Chunrad (1150), Haimo (1160) and Berthold (1169). Around 1270, the

bishopric of Chiemsee The Bishopric of Chiemsee was a Roman Catholic diocese. While based on the islands of the Chiemsee in Bavaria, Germany, most of its territory lay in the County of Tyrol, Austria. The bishopric ceased to be a residential see in 1808. and according ...

seems to have come into the possession of the castle. Although aone of the Gerhoch is still called a gertop of Weyer, this last offspring from the Weyer family was already a fief of the Chiemsean bishops.

History

See also