The ruins of Falkenstein Castle () is in the

Weinviertel The (; ) or ; "Area below the " is located in the northeast of Lower Austria. In the east, the borders Slovakia at the March River. In the south, it borders and , its limits being the Wagram, the Danube and the . Its western neighbor is ...

region of

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 ...

, about north of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

near the border to

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. The castle was used as a "Reichsfeste", for the protection of the HRE Reich with an overview over nearly all of Moravia. It was founded around 1050 by

Emperor Henry III Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

. 1106

Leopold III, Margrave of Austria Leopold III (, , 1073 – 15 November 1136), known as Leopold the Good, was the Margrave of Austria from 1095 to his death in 1136. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. He was canonized on 6 January 1485 and became the patron saint of Aus ...

purchased the castle, from then on it was owned by the rulers of Austria. 1572 Maximilian II sold Falkenstein to the Baron (later Count) of Trautson. In 1645, in the last period of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Falkenstein was conquered by Swedish forces, but not destroyed. Its decay began at the end of the 17th century, when the castle was dismantled by the owners themselves in order to re-use the material. During the summer season, the inner ward is turned into an impressive site for medieval feasts and theatre plays.

Sources

* Falko Daim (ed.), 2005: ''Burgen – Weinviertel'' (pp. 96–100). Vienna: Verlag Freytag & Berndt * Ilse Schöndorfer, 1999: ''Steine und Sagen – Burgruinen in Niederösterreich'' (pp. 247–250). St.Pölten–Wien: Verlag Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus * Johannes-Wolfgang Neugebauer, Friedrich Parisch, Spiridon Verginis, 1995: ''Burgruine Falkenstein'' in: ''Fundberichte aus Österreich'', Band 34
NÖ-Burgen online: Burgruine Falkenstein

Burgen-Austria.com: Falkenstein (Weinviertel) - Burgruine
Buildings and structures completed in 1050 11th-century fortifications Falkenstein Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor {{Austria-castle-stub