Hochosterwitz Castle

Hochosterwitz stands on an isolated dolomite rock that rises about 170 metres above the Zollfeld plain in Carinthia, about 7 km east of St. Veit an der Glan; on a clear day it can be seen from some 30 km away. The rock was settled in the Bronze Age, and it enters written history in 860 as Astarwiza, in a deed of the East Frankish king Louis the German granting estates in the region to the Archbishopric of Salzburg. From the 12th century it was held by the lords of Osterwitz, hereditary cupbearers to the dukes of Carinthia, until the last of the line, deep in debt after a family member died in Ottoman captivity, surrendered it to Emperor Frederick III in 1478. Ottoman raids left the castle badly damaged, and in 1509 Maximilian I pledged it to Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, Bishop of Gurk, who repaired it.

The castle as it looks today is the work of Georg Khevenhüller, governor of Carinthia, who bought it in 1571 and turned it into the province's main stronghold against the Turkish threat. Between about 1570 and 1586 he built the approach road that makes Hochosterwitz unique: a 620-metre path winding up the rock through fourteen fortified gates, each with its own trap. The Landschaftstor has a drawbridge that pivots inside the gate so an attacker would suddenly face a chasm; the Manntor opens only towards the enemy; the Nautor juts over the drop like the bow of a ship; the Khevenhüllertor carries a marble portrait of Georg in armour. The portals, in red sandstone, green chlorite schist and white marble, are fine examples of Mannerist architecture. A 1576 marble plaque in the courtyard asks his descendants to keep the castle for ever, and they have: it has remained with the Khevenhüller family ever since, with no major alterations after the 16th century.

Visitors walk the gate path, where each gate carries a diagram of its defences, or take an inclined lift, opened in 2017, which climbs about 100 metres over a length of 125 metres. At the top, the inner castle holds a museum of the family's collections, with paintings, weapons and armour including one suit about 2.4 metres tall, a chapel dedicated to St Nicholas, and a courtyard restaurant under chestnut trees. Lower down is the castle church of St John of Nepomuk, which has held the Khevenhüller family crypt since 1607. A local tale says Margaret of Tyrol lifted a siege after the starving garrison threw its last ox, stuffed with grain, over the walls; historians consider it very unlikely. The castle is open seasonally, from spring to autumn.

Getting there

The castle is near St. Georgen am Längsee, about 7 km east of St. Veit an der Glan and roughly 20 km from Klagenfurt. Klagenfurt Airport (KLU) is about 15 km away. It can be reached by car, or on foot from Launsdorf-Hochosterwitz railway station, which has trains to Klagenfurt.