Schloss Katzenberg

Katzenberg Castle lies on the old Roman road from Altheim to Passau in the municipality of Kirchdorf am Inn and is located in the Katzenberg district.

⚜ In 1196, the building is mentioned in a document as the property of the Passau bishops and referred to as Chotzenperig Castle. In 1251, the bishopric enfeoffed the Counts of Ortenburg with the fortress, which they had administered by bailiffs. These included Wernhart von Chumbrechting and Otto von Ritzing. From 1300 to 1525, the Mautner family from Burghausen held the fief. They were followed by the Schwarzensteins. After the death of Hans Wolf Schwarzensteiner in 1595, his son-in-law, Count Burkhard von Taufkirchen, inherited the property. Under his descendants, the castle was transformed into a palace and baroqueised in the 17th century. In 1629, the castle was severely damaged by fire. Katzenberg was taken by the peasants in the Bavarian uprising of 1705. In 1798, Count Josef Albert Matthias von Taufkirchen bought the manors of Forchtenau and Aurolzmünster, which he merged with Katzenberg. In 1819 Walpurga, the daughter of the last Count of Taufkirchen, married Franz Xaver Count Aham zu Neuhaus. However, he sold Katzenberg to Baron Karl von Pflummern in 1830, whereby it was again separated from Forchtenau and Aurolzmünster. In 1885, the estate was purchased by Max Pfliegl and in 1895 by the Danish Baron Waldemar von Thienen-Adlerflycht. At that time, a brewery was attached to the castle. In 1931, the current owners, the Steinbrener family of factory owners, acquired the estate.

⚜ A prayer book and bookbinding museum is located on the ground floor of the castle, where magnificent Bibles, prayer books and pocket calendars are on display. Several old bookbinding machines and tools are also an important part of the exhibition. The museum documents the publishing and bookbinding history of the former Johann Steinbrener company, which employed up to 1000 people in its heyday and had branches in over 65 countries.

⚜ The entrance to the former Baroque park is adorned with two figures of athletes, known as Borghesian fencers. The stone figures enthroned on pedestals were created by the well-known and very talented Baroque sculptor Bernhard Michael Mandl.

⚜ Based on historical models, old gardens were brought back to life in the "Historic Gardens on the Inn" project on the occasion of the 2004 Provincial Exhibition. Visitors are shown the wild and romantic landscape garden of Katzenberg Castle with its old trees, roses, spring flowers and shrubs.

⚜ The rose garden will be completely refurbished in 2017 using the proceeds from the 2016 Christmas market.