Burgruine Starhemberg was a castle in

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. 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 Gu ...

river was the border between Styria and the

March of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (; ) was a medieval frontier march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring oc ...

. 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. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria fr ...

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

. After the

Battle on the Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava (river), Morava Field''; ; ; ); at Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history of Central Europe for the following centuries. T ...

in 1278, the castle was acquired by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

s. In 1482, the castle was captured by

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

king of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') 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 19,000 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 (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

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. Burg Starhemberg Vischer.jpg, Copper engraving by

Georg Matthäus Vischer Georg Matthäus Vischer (22 April 1628 – 13 December 1696) was an Austrian topographer, cartographer, engraver and parish priest in Leonstein (Upper Austria) and Vienna. Vischer was born in Wenns ( Tyrol). Despite his clerical voc ...

, 1672 Burg Starhemberg Grundriss 2.JPG, Castle Starhemberg's ground plan Ruine Starhemberg von Dreitstten.JPG, Castle Ruin Starhemberg, contemporary south elevation RuineStarhembergPano.jpg, Castle Ruin Starhemberg, contemporary north elevation Burg Starhemberg Burghof Richtung Norden.JPG, The inner bailey's southern walls Burg Starhemberg Küchenschlott 2.JPG, The castle's housing unit with domed kitchen funnel Burg Starhemberg Burgmauer Richtung Nordnordost.JPG, The housing unit's north-eastern wall Burg Starhemberg Burghof Richtung Westen.JPG, The castles's inner bailey, view westward 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