Burgruine Starhemberg was a castle in

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

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 ...

. Built in the 1140s, the castle fell into ruins by the late 19th century. Burgruine Starhemberg is above sea level.Burgruine Starhemberg Altitude and Location
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History

The name is derived from the original name of 'high mountain' or 'Starkenberg'. A small castle was built here by Ottokar III, Margrave of Styria between 1140 and 1145. At the time, the

Piesting The Piesting is a river in southern Lower Austria. A left tributary of the Fischa, its drainage basin is . The sources of the Piesting are the Kalte Gang, the , and the Längapiesting, which begin south of the Schneeberg. These rivers meet in G ...

river was the border between Styria and the

March of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...

. In 1192, Styria—and, thus, the castle—was acquired by the

Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its e ...

s. The last Babenberger duke of Austria, Frederick II the Warlike, expanded and fortified the castle, leaving Starhemberg as one of the most important castles in Lower Austria in the 13th century. In wartime, the archives and the family treasure was hidden here, and were guarded by the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. After the

Battle on the Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava Field''; german: Schlacht auf dem Marchfeld; cs, Bitva na Moravském poli; hu, Morvamezei csata) at Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history o ...

in 1278, the castle was acquired by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s. In 1482, the castle was captured by

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

king of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

. In 1683, the castle offered protection from the Turks to the surrounding population. To escape a new roof-tax the counts of

Heusenstamm Heusenstamm () is a town of over 18,000 people in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Heusenstamm is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district. The town li ...

around 1800 had the roof covering removed, as well as doors and window frames, beginning the decline of the castle. Around 1870, a large part of the great hall collapsed. Until the mid-20th century, the ruins were used for the extraction of construction materials by the local population. In the spring of 1945 a unit of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

used the ruined tower above the chapel as an observation post. Russian artillery fire inflicted heavy damage to the walls. In the second half of the 20th century a local organisation, Friends of the Castle Starhemberg, has sought to restore the ruins. Since 2007, the castle has been closed to visitors, for security. File:Ruine Starhemberg von Dreitstten.JPG, Castle Ruin Starhemberg, contemporary south elevation File:Burg Starhemberg Grundriss 2.JPG, Castle Starhemberg's ground plan File:RuineStarhembergPano.jpg, Castle Ruin Starhemberg, contemporary north elevation File:Burg Starhemberg Burghof Richtung Norden.JPG, The inner bailey's southern walls File:Burg Starhemberg Küchenschlott 2.JPG, The castle's housing unit with domed kitchen funnel File:Burg Starhemberg Burgmauer Richtung Nordnordost.JPG, The housing unit's north-eastern wall File:Burg Starhemberg Burghof Richtung Westen.JPG, The castles's inner bailey, view westward File:Burg Starhemberg Westseite Richtung Norden.JPG, The castle's western walls, view northward

References

{{Castles in Austria Castles in Lower Austria Starhemberg family Wiener Neustadt-Land District Ruined castles in Austria

History

See also

References