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Heinfels Castle, and the eponymous district court, were built on the territory of the Prince-Bishopric of Freising, Innichen. In 1239, Otto Welf, from the House of Welfsberg, starts calling himself ‘de Hunenvelse’ (he who comes from Heinfels). The castle was first named in 1288 and the original building hails back to the last quarter of the 13th Century, and is composed by the keep, jutting out from the highest point of the rock on which the castle is perched, the palas built to the west of the structure and the castle walls stretching out to the west. Back in the 13th century, Heinfels was transferred to the House of Görz and, in 1271, Count Meinhard II of Tyrol decided to keep it for himself, going against the agreement concerning the division of the family goods he had stipulated with his brother Albert. It was only in 1275 that Meinhard gave the castle to his brother, Albert II of Görz. Heinfels was the most important hub in County Görz in the Pustertal valley until the Görz line died out. In the past, a square tower used to rise to the east of the castle structure (today it has been incorporated into the western walls). This tower was the former residence of the Count of the castle who acted as trustee of the property. The castle chapel, dedicated to Saint Laurentius, contains remains of frescoes hailing back to the Late Roman and Gothic period, and was consecrated a second time in 1331. Around 1400, an imposing, three-story hall - a new living area- was erected to the west across the ruins of the old castle walls. It still dominates the western side of the castle structure to this very day. Still in the possession of the Görz family, the castle was fortified at the end of the 15th century with an extended wall and round corner towers.
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