| Bernstein Castle | |
|---|---|
| Burgenland,Austria | |
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| Site information | |
| Type | Castle |
| Owner | Almásy dynasty |
| Open to the public | yes |
| Condition | major parts conserved |
| Location | |
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| Coordinates | 47°24′23.5″N16°15′07.1″E / 47.406528°N 16.251972°E /47.406528; 16.251972 |
| Site history | |
| Built | around 860/ around 1199 |
| Battles/wars | From 1529 to 1532 besieged by theTurks, in 1604 besieged by the army ofStephen Bocskay. |
Bernstein Castle (Hungarian:Borostyánkő vára) is a historical building inBernstein im Burgenland,Austria, first mentioned in the 13th century.
In 860 the whole region was part of thearchbishopric of Salzburg. Erimbert, a liegeman of the archbishopric, handed over thePinka to one Jacobus. The village nameRettenbach was not mentioned yet, but the oldSlavic name of the nearby hamlet Grodnau (meaning "the village belonging to the castle") is a sign of the existence of a nearby castle, identifiable with castle Bernstein. Bernstein Castle is 615 metres (2,018 ft) above sea level.[1]
From 1199 the castle was part ofHungary. It is not exactly known when the castle was handed over toFrederick II, Duke of Austria, and how long it was his property; but in 1236Béla IV of Hungary conquered the castle. Some years later (in 1260) he gave it to countHenry I Kőszegi.
In 1336 the counts of Güssing and Bernstein were defeated by the Hungarian KingCharles Robert of Anjou, and the castle of Bernstein became part of the Hungarian Kingdom. In 1388 the castle was given to the Kanizsai family. In 1482 it became property ofMatthias Corvinus of Hungary for a short time; in 1487 Hans von Königsberg received the castle from EmperorFrederick III.
In 1529 theTurks besieged the castle, but they were not able to capture it. Another unsuccessful siege by the Turks followed in 1532. On that occasion the ring of bastions was erected in order to change the castle into a refuge.
In 1604 castle Bernstein was unsuccessfully besieged for weeks by a combined army consisting of Hungarians, Turks, andTatars under the leadership ofStephen Bocskay. Due to an explosion of the gunpowder storeroom, in 1617 Ludwig Königsberg ordered the rebuilding of theGothic inner part of the castle inBaroque style. Thekeep and towers were eliminated. A short time later (1644) Ehrenreich Christoph Königsberg sold the sovereignty and the castle to Count ÁdámBatthyány. In 1864 Gustav Batthyány sold the castle to hismanciple Edward O'Egan, whose heirs finally sold the castle to Eduard von Almásy. His family currently owns the castle. In 1953 a part of the castle was turned into a hotel and restaurant.
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