Hochosterwitz Castle (german: Burg Hochosterwitz, sl, Grad Ostrovica) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

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 ...

, considered one of Austria's most impressive

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castles. It is on a high

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

rock near

Sankt Georgen am Längsee Sankt Georgen am Längsee ( sl, Šentjurij ob Dolgem jezeru) is a municipality in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in Carinthia, Austria. Geography Sankt Georgen is located at the Längsee north of the Zollfeld Valley. In the east, the ...

, east of the town of

Sankt Veit an der Glan Sankt Veit an der Glan (; sl, Šentvid ob Glini) is a town in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the administrative centre of the Sankt Veit an der Glan District. It was the historic Carinthian capital until 1518. The famous chef Wolfgang Puck was ...

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

. The

rock castle A rock castle (german: Felsenburg) is a type of medieval castle that directly incorporates natural rock outcrops into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle. Topographically, rock castles are c ...

is one of the state's landmarks and a major tourist attraction.

Location

Hochosterwitz is above sea level on the rim of the historic

Zollfeld Zollfeld ( sl, Gosposvetsko polje) is a slightly ascending plain in Carinthia, Austria. It is one of the oldest cultural landscapes in the East Alpine region. Geography It is from to wide and about long, with an elevation between above sea ...

plain north of

Magdalensberg Magdalensberg ( Slovene: ''Štalenska gora'') is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria. Geography Magdalensberg lies at the foot of the Magdalensberg in the Klagenfurt basin in the lower Gurk valley. The Gurk an ...

, about east of Sankt Veit. It can be seen from a distance of up to on a clear day.

History

A settlement site since the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, the rock was first mentioned in an 860 deed issued by

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

, King of

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

, donating several of his properties in the former principality of

Carantania Carantania, also known as Carentania ( sl, Karantanija, german: Karantanien, in Old Slavic '), was a Slavic principality that emerged in the second half of the 7th century, in the territory of present-day southern Austria and north-eastern ...

to the

Archdiocese of Salzburg The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...

. It was then named ''‘Astarwiza’'', Khevenhüller-Metsch,Georg: 2001, Page 4 its name being of Slavic origin. It remained a Salzburg possession, until in the 11th century Archbishop

Gebhard of Salzburg Blessed Gebhard von Salzburg ( 101015 June 1088), also occasionally known as Gebhard of Sussex, was Archbishop of Salzburg from 1060 until his death. He was one of the fiercest opponents of King Henry IV of Germany during the Investiture Controver ...

ceded the castle to the descendants of Count Siegfried of Sponheim in return for their support during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

. After Siegfried's grandson Henry IV became

Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...

in 1122, the

Sponheim Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany. History Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim. Sponheim Abbey There was a Benedictine abbey which was founded in 1101 by Step ...

rulers were able to shake off the Salzburg overlordship. Later they bestowed the

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

upon the ''

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...

'' of the Osterwitz noble family, possibly a cadet branch of the Sponheim dynasty. In 1209 one Herman of Osterwitz, who held the hereditary office of the

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

at the ducal court in Sankt Veit, accompanied Duke Bernhard of Carinthia to the coronation of Emperor

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

in Rome.

In his book ''Change'' the Austro-American psychologist

Paul Watzlawick Paul Watzlawick (July 25, 1921 – March 31, 2007) was an Austrian-American family therapist, psychologist, communication theorist, and philosopher. A theoretician in communication theory and radical constructivism, he commented in the fields ...

(1921–2007) renders a popular tale of the siege of the castle by the troops of Countess

Margaret of Tyrol Margaret, nicknamed ''Margarete Maultasch'' (1318 – 3 October 1369), was the last Countess of Tyrol from the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner''), and an unsuccessful claimant to the Duchy of Carinthia. Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the ...

(''Margarethe Maultasch''). According to legend first noted by the medieval chronicler Jakob Unrest and later by

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...

, Margaret, cheated by the Austrian

House of 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 ...

of her inheritance claims to Carinthia upon her father's death in 1335, invaded the duchy; her forces were however deceived and withdrew when the garrison of Hochosterwitz slaughtered its last ox, filled it with corn and threw it over the wall, pretending it still had so many provisions in stock that they could be used as projectiles. The tale is a common topic in the Eastern Alpine region, and it is known in many variations, with different characters. In the 15th century, the last Carinthian cup-bearer, Georg of Osterwitz was captured in a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

invasion and died in 1476 in prison without leaving descendants. Khevenhüller-Metsch,Georg: 2001, Page 5 Hans, cup-bearer of Osterwitz was the last remaining survivor of the family. He had a substantial debt owing to the Emperor and was forced to give up the deeds of the castle to pay his debt. So after four centuries, on 30 May 1478, the possession of the castle reverted to the Habsburg emperor Frederick III. Over the next 30 years, the castle was badly damaged by numerous Turkish campaigns. On 5 October 1509, Emperor Maximilian I handed the castle as a pledge to

Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg (1469 – 30 March 1540) was a statesman of the Holy Roman Empire, a Cardinal and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1519 to his death. Life Matthäus Lang was the son of a burgher of Augsburg and later received ...

, then

Bishop of Gurk The Bishop of Gurk is the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk, which was established in 1072 as the first suffragan bishop by Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg, Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg in the Duchy of Carinthia. Initially perfo ...

. Bishop Lang undertook a substantial renovation project for the damaged castle. Hochosterwitz Castle Gate1

About 1541, German king

Ferdinand I of Habsburg Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...

bestowed Hochosterwitz upon the Carinthian governor Christof Khevenhüller. In 1571, Baron George Khevenhüller acquired the citadel by purchase. He fortified to deal with the threat of Turkish invasions of the region, building an armory and 14 gates between 1570 and 1586. Such massive fortification is considered unique in citadel construction. Because of the 14 gates, each equipped with different treacherous methods of guarding the path, local legend maintains that the castle has never been conquered and that none of the attacks managed to get beyond the fourth (Engelstor) gate.

Present

Since the 16th century, no major changes have been made to Hochosterwitz. It has also remained in the possession of the Khevenhüller family as requested by the original builder, George Khevenhüller. A marble plaque dating from 1576 in the castle yard documents this request. Some parts of the castle are open to the public every year from Easter to the end of October. Tourists are allowed to walk the long pathway through the 14 gates up to the castle; each gate has a diagram of the defense mechanism used to seal that particular gate. The castle rooms hold a collection of prehistoric artifacts, paintings, weapons, and armor, including one set of armor tall, once worn by Burghauptmann Schenk.de Fabianis, p. 165 Hochosterwitz Castle can be reached by car or a hike from Launsdorf-Hochosterwitz train station, with connection to nearby

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

. A 1:25 miniature

scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

of Hochosterwitz Castle may be seen at

Minimundus Minimundus is a miniature park in Klagenfurt in Carinthia, Austria. It displays over 150 miniature models of architecture from around the world, built at a ratio of 1:25. History Since its opening in 1958, more than 15 million visitors have visite ...

, a popular tourist attraction in

approximately away.

Gallery

File:WestViewfromHochosterwitzCastle.jpg, Looking northwest from the top of the castle File:Hochosterwitz IMG 0564.jpg, Battlements at the beginning of the path File:Sankt Georgen am Laengsee Burg Hochosterwitz 23012010 03.jpg, Hochosterwitz in winter File:Sankt Georgen am Längsee Burg Hochosterwitz W-Ansicht 12092018 4586.jpg, Hochosterwitz in summer File:Hochosterwitz Castle Garden.JPG, Castle garden, with church spire in background

References

* * * *

External links

Burg Hochosterwitz Official Site
(retrieved Nov 6, 2005)
Burg Hochosterwitz Burg Galerie Official Site
(retrieved Jul 3, 2010)

Notes

{{Authority control

Hochosterwitz Hochosterwitz Castle (german: Burg Hochosterwitz, sl, Grad Ostrovica) is a castle in Austria, considered one of Austria's most impressive medieval castles. It is on a high dolomite rock near Sankt Georgen am Längsee, east of the town of Sankt ...

Tourist attractions in Carinthia (state) Museums in Carinthia (state) Historic house museums in Austria