Berneck Castle is located near Kauns, on the opposite side of the Inn valley from Laudegg Castle, and in the Kaunertal valley. The castle sits on top of a large rock close to the river Faggenbach.
It is assumed that the castle was built by the Lords of Berneck at the beginning of the 13th century. The old castle was probably badly damaged during the Anneberg dispute with Duke Friedrich. As a result, it was rebuilt by Hans Wilhelm von Mülinen as a late Gothic residential castle. After this expansion in the 15th century, it was one of the most beautiful and largest in the area. The use of yellow tuff for window and door frames, window crosses, corner blocks and corbels is striking. Also noteworthy is the castle chapel, which Saint Bartholomew is dedicated and contains important late Gothic frescoes. The altar of the chapel is carved directly from the rock. There is a free pulpit in the chapel courtyard.
In 1775, the Pachs took out a loan of 1,500 guilders for a renovation, and in 1819 the complex was restored as a summer residence. From 1870, however, Berneck continued to decline, and in the 20th century the decline progressed rapidly. Due to the dilapidation, the oldest Gothic room in North Tyrol, which Hans Wilhelm von Mülinen had set up in 1437, was dismantled in 1940 and taken to the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum. Since its renovation in 2007 it can be visited again.
Only the purchase of the castle by Ekkehard Hörmann and the subsequent renovation from 1977 to 1983 saved Berneck from final decay. The renovation of the castle chapel with funds from the Munich Messerschmitt Foundation was completed in 1987.
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Ogrodzieniec Castle is a ruined medieval castle originally built in the 14th–15th century by the W³odkowie Sulimczycy family. Established in the early 12th century, during the reign of Boles³aw III Wrymouth, the first stronghold was razed by the Tatars in 1241. In the mid-14th century a new gothic castle was built here to accommodate the Sulimczycy family. Surrounded by three high rocks, the castle was well integrated into the area. The defensive walls were built to close the circuit formed by the rocks, and a narrow opening between two of the rocks served as an entrance.
In 1470 the castle and lands were bought by the wealthy Cracovian townsmen, Ibram and Piotr Salomon. Then, Ogrodzieniec became the property of Jan Feliks Rzeszowski, the rector of Przemy¶l and the canon of Cracow. The owners of the castle about that time were also Jan and Andrzej Rzeszowskis, and later Pilecki and Che³miñski families. In 1523 the castle was bought by Jan Boner.