Schlaining Peace Castle

Friedensburg Schlaining was first mentioned in documents in 1271 as "castrum Zloynuk" and was owned by the Counts of Güssing at that time. The name gradually changed before it officially became known by its current name in 1786. In the 15th century, the castle came into the possession of the knight Andreas Baumkircher. His name is surrounded by many legends in the region today - the so-called "Baumkircher Feud" (1469-1471) against Emperor Frederick III ultimately led to Baumkircher's execution in Graz. In 1527, Franz Batthyány received the estate as a gift and his successors remained the owners for over 300 years. Only after the execution of Ludwig Batthyány in 1849 did the castle revert to new owners, including the Hungarian Chamber, the railroad pioneer Dr. Franz Schmidt, Dr. Demeter Selesky and the Hungarian Hermesbank as well as the former Austrian Federal Minister DDDr. Udo Illig.

The idea of creating a peace castle was born during the turbulent times of the Cold War. To this end, an association was founded in 1982 by Dr. Gerald Mader with the support of Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, with the help of which the idea of a dialog between East and West was to be promoted. This association was implemented, among other things, through the "Peace Center" at Friedensburg Schlaining as a place of encounter, discussion and dialogue. Subsequently, in 1983, the association established itself as the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ÖSFK for short, which was also awarded the official title of "Ambassador of Peace" by Secretary General Perez de Cuellar in 1987.