The Burg Griffen is a
castle on a 130m/427 ft-high
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
mountain above the town of
Griffen in the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n state of
Carinthia.
History
The castle was built between 1124 and 1146 by order of
Bishop Otto of
Bamberg. In an 1160 deed,
Emperor Friedrich I mentioned ''Grivena'' as a Bamberg property.
In 1292 the
Carinthian
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carint ...
nobleman Count Ulrich von Heunburg with support of
Archbishop Konrad IV of Salzburg occupied the fort in an uprising against
Albert of Habsburg, the son of King
Rudolph I of Germany and
Duke Meinhard II. However Ulrich was abandoned by his allies and one year later had to leave the castle. In 1759 Bishop Adam Friedrich sold the Bamberg estates in Carinthia to
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
and the castle was incorporated into the Carinthian duchy.
About 1520 a large reconstruction of the castle took place as a protection against the threat posed by the
Ottoman forces with a base amounted of about 4000 m
2, though the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
never laid siege to Griffen. In 1659, lightning struck one of the towers and the decay of the castle began. In 1768 a last religious service took place and about 1840 the roofs were torn. In 2000 the preservation of the castle began. A steep footpath leads up the mountain to the ruins.
Cave
Within the mountain is the ''Griffener Tropfsteinhöhle'' (
dripstone cave
Dripstone may refer to:
*Hood mould or dripstone, an architectural feature for handling rain water
* Dripstone, a type of speleothem (cave formation) that includes for example stalactites
* Dripstone, a type of water filter made of porous stone
* D ...
) with a length of 485m/1591 ft, which was not discovered until the late days of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. It is open to public and a natural landmark since 1957.
External links
Griffen at burgen.de
Castles in Carinthia (state)
Tourist attractions in Carinthia (state)
{{Carinthia-geo-stub