Gösting Castle (german: Burg Gösting) is a ruined castle in

Gösting Gösting (; from Slavic ''gostinca'' = hostel, or ''gozd'' = mountain forest) is the 13th city district of Graz, in the Austrian province of Styria. It is situated in the north-west of the city between the river Mur and the Plabutsch mountain an ...

, the 13th borough in the northwest of the

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

n capital

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

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 ...

Location

Due to its good strategic location, the castle controlled the narrow Mura valley north of Graz, which opens out into the

Graz basin Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-re ...

, and therefore the traffic and trade to and from Graz. The castle ruin, which is above Graz, is a popular place to visit, since it offers a panoramic view of the Graz basin and the eastern Styrian hill country even today.

History

The castle was built in the 11th century; the first record dates to the year 1042. It continued to be extended until the 15th century. In that century, the castle was expanded to a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

to provide protection against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

and

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

. It was part of the signalling fire system, which was supposed to warn the population in case of danger. In 1707, the castle and domain were acquired by the Counts of Attems. On 10 July 1723 lightning struck the

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate ( saltpeter) ...

magazine and a large part of the castle burnt down. It was not rebuilt, but was replaced as the new residence of the Attems family by the Baroque

Schloss Gösting ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

or Neugösting at the foot of the mountain, which was completed in 1728. Since 1999 the ruin and surrounding forests have been owned by the Auer family, who are bakers.Land register of the district court Graz The ruin is maintained by the castle foundation, which was founded in 1925.

Construction

Today only the chapel, the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

, and the remains of some of the walls are still standing. The tower now houses a small museum, and a tavern has been established. The castle can be reached on foot in only 30 minutes from the Schlossplatz in Gösting.

References

External links

Gösting at burgen-austria.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosting Castle Castles in Styria Museums in Styria Ruined castles in Austria Buildings and structures in Graz

Location

History

Construction

See also

References

External links