Forchtenstein (, ; until 1972, Forchtenau, ''Fraknó'', ''Fortnava'') is a town in the district of
Mattersburg in the
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 ...
n state of
Burgenland
Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...
. It is the location of
Forchtenstein Castle, one of the many palaces of the famous
Esterházy
The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...
family.
It consists of two subdivisions (''
Katastralgemeinden'') which were formerly separate towns: Forchtenau (Hungarian: ''Fraknó'') and Neustift an der Rosalia (Hungarian: ''Újtelek'').
Population
The castle gained a nickname as the "Castle of Fear". The castle has one red and one black tower. The castle boasted many torture chambers including one called the Pit of Oblivion, a deep pit where torture victims would be strung upside down and deprived of food and water until they died. The Pit of Oblivion is located in the black tower. Although many of the rooms are now available to the public either for rental or visitation, the treasure room of the castle still remains private and inaccessible.
Gallery
Image:Eszterhazy12.jpg, Sculpture at Esterházy Castle
Image:Eszterhazy13.jpg, At Esterházy Castle
Image:Eszterhazy14.jpg, At Esterházy Castle
Image:Fraknó légifotó.jpg, Aerial photograph of the castle
References
External links
Medieval Warfare: Castles of Fear
Cities and towns in Mattersburg District
Croatian communities in Burgenland
Esterházy family
{{Burgenland-geo-stub