Hochosterwitz Castle

Hochosterwitz is the castle children draw: a single rock rising out of flat farmland with walls spiralling up it. The defences were built out in the sixteenth century by the Khevenhuller family, who strung fourteen gates along the only path to the top, each with its own drawbridge, tower or trap. Walking up through them takes about half an hour and is the real experience, since the courtyard at the summit is comparatively plain, with a chapel, an armoury and a terrace over the Glan valley. In clear weather the Karawanken ridge shows along the southern horizon.

History

The rock has been settled since the Bronze Age and is first named, as Astarwiza, in a deed of 860 in which King Louis the German gave lands in Carantania to the Archdiocese of Salzburg; in the 11th century Archbishop Gebhard ceded the castle to the heirs of Count Siegfried of Sponheim, who later gave it in fief to the Osterwitz family, hereditary cup-bearers to the dukes of Carinthia. A popular tale says that the garrison drove off the besieging army of Margaret of Tyrol by throwing their last ox, stuffed with grain, over the wall. The castle reverted to Emperor Frederick III on 30 May 1478, was pledged in 1509 to Matthäus Lang, Bishop of Gurk, who restored it, passed around 1541 to the governor Christof Khevenhüller, and in 1571 Baron George Khevenhüller bought it and built the armoury and the 14 gates between 1570 and 1586; it has hardly changed since and still belongs to the family (Wikipedia, Hochosterwitz Castle).

What's there

• The fourteen gates - the spiral path up the rock, each gate built as a separate obstacle.
• The summit courtyard - the chapel, arcades and terrace at the top of the climb.
• The armoury - the arms and armour kept by the family that fortified the rock.
• The view over the plain - the Glan valley, farmland and the Karawanken ridge to the south.

When to go

Open from spring to autumn only, with the gate path in daily use and a lift running for those who need it. Morning light is better for photographing the rock from the road. Late April and September are quiet; summer weekends and Carinthian school holidays are not. Allow real time for the walk up.

What to expect

The climb is steady rather than hard, but it is thirty minutes of continuous ascent with little shade, and the lift costs extra. Once at the top the interiors are limited, and a food operation dominates the courtyard. The castle closes for months in winter, when only the exterior view from the road is possible.

Nearby

Sankt Veit an der Glan and the churches of the Gurk valley are both close.

Key facts