Liebenfels Castle

Liebenfels Castle towers over the hills of the Seerücken. This nearly 800-year-old structure, featuring ornate frescoes, mysterious underground passages, and a 24-hectare estate with forests and its own spring, is a significant, privately managed cultural landmark.

Originally built as a strategic outpost, the founding of Liebenfels Castle by Knight Ulrich von Liebenfels dates back to 1254. The former fortress of the Lords of Liebenfels—later owned by the Tettikofen and Lanz families—served diplomatic purposes in the 15th century, when Hans Lanz prepared for the Council of Constance in the Knights’ Hall. Various renovations have shaped its current appearance. After periods of decline, the estate changed hands several times until the poet’s friend Adolf Ludwig Follen acquired it in 1848 and restored it to its former glory. Since 1991, the castle chapel and the Knights’ Hall have been in the hands of the current owners, who have restored the estate and are preserving it for future generations. To this day, the estate remains privately owned. Visitors are asked to respect the privacy of the owners and to enjoy the beauty of the site from publicly accessible vantage points.