History

Between 1590 and 1630, Barthlmä Khevenhüller (1539-1613) built Castle Velden. It became the centre of society and was intended to be a place for him to grow old. After his death in 1613 the castle and the nobility at Velden were sold to the Earl of Graz, Sigmund Ludwig Dietrichstein. The earl hired out the surrounding land and fields, the Mühl Pond, the tree garden at the castle (including a small pond containing trout kept especially for the castle kitchen) on a lifetime lease to the Klagenfurt administrator Franz Karl von Manner.

In 1762 a large fire destroyed large parts of the 3 storey high renaissance building with its four polygonal towers and expansive agricultural buildings. Manner used this opportunity and took possession of the castle, Meier House and the mill. He brought a new order to the running of the castle, but the castle never regained its former glory under the new ownership.

In 1891 the Vienna industrialist, Ernst Wahliß, had the castle largely rebuilt according to plans from the 18th and 19th century. And so, in general (though not in its details), the castle was restored to the magnificent four tower castle of Barthlmä Khevenhüller in the neo-renaissance style. At the same time Wahliß incorporated modern luxuries. All rooms had telegraph connections that relayed post four times daily. Every storey was supplied with water pipes that supplied the best drinking water.

After Wahliß' death his daughter, Katharina Maria Casati, inherited the Velden concern. She was eager to create a further extension. And so, to the west of the castle, a building was created that was stylistically adapted to match the main building, as well as a mansion in the park. In this way the number of guest rooms was increased and all the rooms were supplied with electric light.

In the autumn of 1909, the community of Velden acquired the castle hotel at the high price of 500 000 Kronen. During the First World War the castle served the purposes of the military for a long time.

After the castle hotel's acquisition in 1926 by the daughters of the well known hotelier Christof Mößlacher, Mrs. Sophie Günzl und Mrs. Elsa Böhm, it entered a new phase in its development. What Castle Velden has since been - a first class hotel of international significance - it has been thanks to these two industrious, knowledgeable and experienced ladies. They have successfully combined the high tradition of the times of Khevenhüller as well as the expectations of a demanding present.

Countless renovations and extensions followed in the 20's and 30's according to the plans of the architect Franz Baumgartner. His buildings in particular mark the landscape in Velden and he is seen as the representative of Lake Wörth Architecture

As the most renowned establishment in the land the Velden Castle Hotel ran until the autumn of 1990. The German multimillionaire, Gunther Sachs, bought the concern for 12 million euro and invested nearly twice that on renovations and extensions. They were, however, never completed and came to a halt in 1993.