Rabenstein Castle () is a ruined

rock castle A rock castle () is a type of medieval castle that directly incorporates natural rock outcrops into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle. Topographically, rock castles are classified as hill ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

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 ...

. Rabenstein Castle is above sea level.Plechl, Pia Maria. 1973. ''Land der Berge: die schönsten Pass- und Höhenstrassen Österreichs''. Vienna: Molden, p. 78. Rabenstein Castle was built around 1100 to protect nearby

Sankt Paul im Lavanttal Sankt Paul im Lavanttal ( or ''Šentpavel'') is a municipality of the Wolfsberg district in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Sankt Paul lies in the Lavant River valley. A large part of the municipality lies in the Granitz River val ...

History

Rabenstein Castle began as a mere watchtower built on a tall hill. Rabenstein became a castle when Engelbert I

Sponheim Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany. History Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim. Sponheim Abbey There was a Benedictine abbey which was founded in 1101 by Steph ...

Margrave of Istria Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empir ...

founded St. Paul's Abbey in 1091 in order to protect the abbey and town around it. The castle was occupied by the Rabensteins (whose name henceforth stuck to the structure) until 1200, the Archbishop of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

until 1300,

References

Castles in Carinthia {{Austria-castle-stub

History

See also

References