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| Landskron Castle | |
|---|---|
Burg Landskron | |
| Carinthia, Austria | |
.JPG) Southwest view of Landskron Castle in Carinthia | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Hill castle |
| Owner | Private |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Ruin |
 | |
| Site history | |
| Built | Early 14th century |
Landskron Castle (German:Burg Landskron,Slovene:Grad Vajškra) is a medievalhill castle northeast ofVillach in the state ofCarinthia,Austria. Dating to the early 14th century, the castle ruins are located on a rock cone of theOssiach Tauern range, at an elevation of 658 metres (2,159 ft) above sea level.[1] Today Landskron Castle, itsfalconry centre conducting regular flying demonstrations, and the nearbymacaque enclosure are major tourist destinations.
Settled since theHallstatt era, the estates aroundLake Ossiach were first mentioned in an 878 deed issued by theEast Frankish kingCarloman of Bavaria, who granted them to the monastery ofAltötting he had established shortly before. About 1024 the area was among theCarinthian possessions of one Count Ozi of theChiemgau, probably a scion of theOtakar dynasty, who foundedOssiach Abbey nearby. A castle already existed, when in 1330 the estates were acquired by theCounts of Ortenburg.
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Landskron itself was first mentioned in 1351, when theHabsburg dukeAlbert II of Austria, also Carinthian duke since 1335, purchased the fortress and had it rebuilt as an important stronghold within the Carinthian possessions of theBamberg prince-bishops. Later, the Habsburg rulers temporarily gave it in pawn to CountHermann II of Celje, heir of the Ortenburg dynasty in 1418, and theLords of Stubenberg. In 1423Andreas von Graben zu Sommeregg was named as celjenian Burgrave of Landskron. In 1511 EmperorMaximilian bestowed the estate to the Knightly Order of Saint George atMillstatt, while the fortress decayed.
In 1542 EmperorFerdinand I finally sold Landskron Castle to the Ortenburg castellan Christoph vonKhevenhüller, who made the castle his main residence and had it rebuilt in a lavishRenaissance style. In 1552 Khevenhüller even received the visit of EmperorCharles V, who, on the run from theProtestant troops of ElectorMaurice of Saxony, had fled to Carinthia. Nevertheless, the Khevenhüllers, themselves Protestant, were stripped of Landskron Castle during theThirty Years' War, by order of EmperorFerdinand II in 1628.
In 1639 the castle passed to theDietrichstein comital dynasty. After the 1648Peace of Westphalia the Khevenhüllers claimed it back and began a decades-long lawsuit, though without any success. While the Dietrichstein owners mostly resided at theirNikolsburg (Mikulov) estates inMoravia, the castle decayed. In 1812 a blaze caused by lightning finally devastated Landskron, which was not rebuilt and fell into ruins. From 1953 onwards, its remains were conserved and a restaurant was opened within its walls.
46°38′33″N13°53′49″E / 46.6423638889°N 13.8969388889°E /46.6423638889; 13.8969388889
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