Chronicle

1925: After the castle’s proprietor, Count Moritz Attems, authorises restoration works and allows a preservation order to be put on the castle, the society’s constituent general meeting is held on 3 March 1925. The renowned historian Fritz Popelka holds a lecture in honour of the newly founded society. The first executive board consists of chairman Emmerich Gordon, the society’s founder (and director of the Moserhof children’s home for boys in Graz), secretary Konrad Schwach, the author of the first comprehensive Gösting castle guide, advisors Fritz Popelka and Hans Pirchegger, both historians, federal archaeologist Walter Schmidt, ethnology professor Viktor von Geramb, state curator Walter von Semetkowski, and castle expert Robert Baravalle. In the same year, trees and bushes in the inner courtyard are cut and giant heaps of debris are ransacked for stones usable for a future reconstructing the donjon. The first section of the castle to be rebuilt is the southern door in the upper castle’s pentagonal tower.

2016: The work on the new book about Gösting Castle is progressing: after several promptings by the chairman, all promised papers finally arrive and several informative discussions take place. Three board members do extensive research on old documents concerning Gösting Castle at the Styrian Provincial Archives and at the private archives of Professor K. A. Kubinzky, a renowned Styrian historian. Unfortunately, the Gösting Castle Society has to accept the owner’s continuing obvious lack of interest in properly maintaining the building. The castle complex’s state of preservation is constantly deteriorating. In addition to this, numerous members of the castle society and most of the (many) visitors to the castle only show an upsettingly small amount of interest in the castle’s history and future. A safe for the collection of donations, once installed into the walls of the inner castle gate by the late legendary chairman R. Guseck, has, over time, sadly become unusable due to its old age and harsh weather conditions. After the very sudden and completely inexplicable resignation of treasurer Geher the society was suddenly put in the difficult position of having to find a new treasurer. Luckily, Gerald Bogner volunteered for the position following an appeal in this year’s newsletter…