History
Schloss Lebenberg was originally the seat of minor landed nobility. Their stately home was intended as the expression of a lifestyle that rose above the lives of common citizenry and farmers. The original name of the estate was “Pfaffenberg”, as evidenced in the chronicled land holdings of Bamberg Abbey. It is not quite clear where the name we know today - “Lebenberg” - actually comes from, but some think that it derives from the Old High German “Hlev” - hill. The first nobles to reside here were the Ochsenbergers.
Lebenberg was first chronicled in 1531.
A map was drawn in 1548 which depicted Lebenberg on a hill.
In 1693, the Prince Archbishop of Passau, Count Johann P. von Lamberg, acquired Schloss Lebenberg and two other palaces, Münichau and Kapsbrunn. The Lamberg family played a major role in the history of Kitzbühel and presided over the courts of Kitzbühel from 1679 until 1840.
In 1885, Schloss Lebenberg underwent a significant expansion. The two tower-like additions on the narrow sides of the palace were constructed, as was the round stair tower. After the remodelling, Schloss Lebenberg became one of the very first lodging establishments to welcome tourists to Kitzbühel.
In the palace wing of today, we find eleven newly adapted Palace Apartments, the Gobelin Hall and most of our restaurant spaces. The old Renaissance doors with their engraved fittings and the coffered wooden ceilings, along with the thick walls, attest to the artistry and craftsmanship of the Middle Ages. A south-facing apartment on the 1st floor, for example, still boasts a green-glazed tiled stove dating from 1669, borne and crowned by four yellow crouching lions. The table in front of the spiral staircase, with a number of antique volumetric measures, dates from the reign of Maria Theresia.
