Burg Lockenhaus
Encyclopedia
Burg Lockenhaus is a castle
and medieval fortress
located in the Güns Valley in the southeastern part of Lockenhaus
, in Burgenland
, eastern Austria
. The castle was built in Romanesque
and Gothic architectural style
s around 1200, and was initially called "Leuca" or Léka. It is part of the Naturpark Geschriebenstein.
border towards Kőszeg
. It is located in the southeastern part of the town of Lockenhaus, roughly 120 kilometres south of Vienna
and roughly the same distance by road northeast of Graz
. It was built on the spur of a hill, which is now called the Castle Hill. It can be reached by express bus service along the Eisenstadter Bundestrasse. A lake lies immediately to the east of the castle.
The historical lineage of the Lords of the Castle Lockenhaus include the Güssinger (1266–1390); the Kanizsay (1390–1535); the Nádasdy (1535–1676); the Esterházy (1676–1968); Professor Paul Anton and Margaret Keller (1968–1980); and Professor Paul Anton Keller Foundation – Castle Lockenhaus since 1980.
Early history
Settlements in the area of Burg Lockenhaus date to the Stone Age
. Illyrians
and Celts who settled here are credited with building the castle around 1200 with construction material available locally, although it first appears in written records dated to 1242. Burgenland's oldest fortress, Burg Lockenhaus was built to defend the area against the Mongols
. The Romans
annexed the area and included it as a part of the Pannonia province under the Roman Empire
. German
and Slavic people inhabited the castle. Notable owners included: Duke Frederick the Warlike
, Henry II of Güssing
, the Bohemian
king, Ottakar II
and King Maximilian II
. The castle was destroyed in 1337 under Charles I of Hungary
.
The town was given a market status in 1492. Finally the castle went to the Nadasdy family. Francis II Nadasdy married Elizabeth Báthory
, a descendant of Stephan Báthory, who went down in history as the Blood Countess, because of her reign of terror, torturing, and murdering hundreds of women for sadistic pleasure.
17th–19th centuries
The castle and the town saw substantial improvements during the reign of Francis III Nadasdy (1622–1671) who was Lord Lieutenant, Royal Council, Chief Chamberlain and Chief Justice, since 1664. He married Julia Anna Esterhazy, daughter of Palatine Nikolaus Esterházy. In 1676, Count Paul Esterhazy, brother of Nadasdy took possession of the castle. During the Turkish War in 1683, there was substantial damage to the town and the castle. In the uprising during the 18th century, there was further looting and destruction.
20th century
During the First World War and the period that followed there was no change in the status of the castle, till 1921. The castle underwent reconstruction only after the Second World War under the Red Army
. In 1968, Professor Paul Anton Keller and his wife Margaret, bought the Lockenhaus Castle, which at that time was in ruins. They sold all their possessions for the purpose of refurbishing it. The refurbishing was estimated to cost €800,000., of which they spent their own money of €500,000. Before restoration completion, Professor Keller died. However, his wife continued the work, completed the task and renamed the castle as "Prof. Paul Anton Keller Foundation – Castle Lockenhaus" in honour of her husband. A Board of Trustees, established in July 1980, has managed the further restoration works undertaken with more funds collected from the public. Eugene Horvath, a retired General and a financial consultant, has contributed substantially to the trust’s activities.
Burg Lockenhaus is part of the Naturpark Geschriebenstein
. The castle is the setting for the medieval scenes in Rudolf Steiner
's mystery drama, The Soul's Probation.
reflects the artistic style of the 13th century. The douple-apsed Kultraum, located on the first floor in the centre of the building, was originally entered through and lit only by a hole in the ceiling; it may have been connected with the Knights Templar
and is also known as the "Knight's Hall". The high-vaulted Rittersaal (Great Hall
) was originally used for mass eating and drinking; it is now the Gothic Knights' Hall, with Gothic cross ribbed vaulting. Red algae
persistently grow near the entrance to the hall in the area where the last Knights Templar were murdered. Outer walls have circular towers and a new conference hall above the Knight's Hall can accommodate 600 people. The chapel with frescoes is in a tower. Several rooms, corridors, stairwells and sanitary works have also been renovated.
The dungeon is particularly notable. It was hewn out of the rock by Turkish prisoners. According to one document, sixteen Turks were burnt alive in it in 1557. Another feature is the so-called cult room, an underground room about which there are various theories.
Avifaunal areas
The building has a Greifvogelstation, which is home to birds of prey. Every year some 1200 bats give birth here. An audio visual presentation and night vision devices are part of the programme, arranged by the Trust Administration, which gives details on the reproduction and child rearing, hunting behavior and diet, and annual cycle of the bats. There are two courtyards, the lower one having a Burgtaverne.
Torture chamber
A spiral stone staircase gradually narrows until a person can no longer move forward except for a black opening in front of the feet. The torture chamber
includes an Iron Maiden, in the center of the room. It was two-faced with an opening for the victim and had sharp spikes on the inside. Other features in the torture chamber are a narrow couch, rusty chains, stone balls, a trapdoor, manacles, crushers and pincers.
Subterranean
The sepulchre
of the Nadasdy family is built of square stones, and vaulted in round arches which rest on columns. It is a long subterranean gallery, lit only by one circular aperture, which can be closed by a stone. A second sepulchre, situated under the suite of rooms once used by the lord of the castle is dug deep into solid rock and is divided into two distinct compartments by a long line of stunted pillars upon which there are rounded arches. The whole subterranean area has been elaborately ornamented with statues carved in wood of which some fragments still remain. A vault is accessed through a large hall that is lit by two narrow arched windows. In the right hand corner there is a well, dug fifty fathom
s deep into the rock.
of Riga. Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival
is an annual event.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
and medieval fortress
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
located in the Güns Valley in the southeastern part of Lockenhaus
Lockenhaus
Lockenhaus is a town in the district of Oberpullendorf in Burgenland in Austria.- History :The town was part of Hungary since the foundation of the kingdom in the year 1000. Since 1898 the name Léka had to be used because of the Magyarization by the government in Budapest...
, in Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, eastern Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The castle was built in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
and Gothic architectural style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
s around 1200, and was initially called "Leuca" or Léka. It is part of the Naturpark Geschriebenstein.
Geography
The castle is located in the Güns Valley, set amidst a hilly terrain in eastern Austria, near the HungarianHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
border towards Kőszeg
Koszeg
----Kőszeg is a town in Vas county, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character.- History :The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas go back to the third quarter of the 13th century...
. It is located in the southeastern part of the town of Lockenhaus, roughly 120 kilometres south of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and roughly the same distance by road northeast of Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
. It was built on the spur of a hill, which is now called the Castle Hill. It can be reached by express bus service along the Eisenstadter Bundestrasse. A lake lies immediately to the east of the castle.
History
Lords of the castleThe historical lineage of the Lords of the Castle Lockenhaus include the Güssinger (1266–1390); the Kanizsay (1390–1535); the Nádasdy (1535–1676); the Esterházy (1676–1968); Professor Paul Anton and Margaret Keller (1968–1980); and Professor Paul Anton Keller Foundation – Castle Lockenhaus since 1980.
Early history
Settlements in the area of Burg Lockenhaus date to the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
and Celts who settled here are credited with building the castle around 1200 with construction material available locally, although it first appears in written records dated to 1242. Burgenland's oldest fortress, Burg Lockenhaus was built to defend the area against the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
annexed the area and included it as a part of the Pannonia province under the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and Slavic people inhabited the castle. Notable owners included: Duke Frederick the Warlike
Frederick II, Duke of Austria
Frederick II, known as the Quarrelsome or the Warlike , from the House of Babenberg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 to 1246....
, Henry II of Güssing
Güssing
Güssing is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,811 , and is the administrative center of the Güssing district.The Güssing Castle, built in 1157, is the oldest castle in Burgenland and a regional landmark....
, the Bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
king, Ottakar II
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
and King Maximilian II
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
. The castle was destroyed in 1337 under Charles I of Hungary
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I , also known as Charles Robert , was the first King of Hungary and Croatia of the House of Anjou. He was also descended from the old Hungarian Árpád dynasty. His claim to the throne of Hungary was contested by several pretenders...
.
The town was given a market status in 1492. Finally the castle went to the Nadasdy family. Francis II Nadasdy married Elizabeth Báthory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
, a descendant of Stephan Báthory, who went down in history as the Blood Countess, because of her reign of terror, torturing, and murdering hundreds of women for sadistic pleasure.
17th–19th centuries
The castle and the town saw substantial improvements during the reign of Francis III Nadasdy (1622–1671) who was Lord Lieutenant, Royal Council, Chief Chamberlain and Chief Justice, since 1664. He married Julia Anna Esterhazy, daughter of Palatine Nikolaus Esterházy. In 1676, Count Paul Esterhazy, brother of Nadasdy took possession of the castle. During the Turkish War in 1683, there was substantial damage to the town and the castle. In the uprising during the 18th century, there was further looting and destruction.
20th century
During the First World War and the period that followed there was no change in the status of the castle, till 1921. The castle underwent reconstruction only after the Second World War under the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. In 1968, Professor Paul Anton Keller and his wife Margaret, bought the Lockenhaus Castle, which at that time was in ruins. They sold all their possessions for the purpose of refurbishing it. The refurbishing was estimated to cost €800,000., of which they spent their own money of €500,000. Before restoration completion, Professor Keller died. However, his wife continued the work, completed the task and renamed the castle as "Prof. Paul Anton Keller Foundation – Castle Lockenhaus" in honour of her husband. A Board of Trustees, established in July 1980, has managed the further restoration works undertaken with more funds collected from the public. Eugene Horvath, a retired General and a financial consultant, has contributed substantially to the trust’s activities.
Burg Lockenhaus is part of the Naturpark Geschriebenstein
Írott-ko
Írott-kő or Geschriebenstein is the highest mountain of the Kőszeg Mountains range, located on the border between Austria and Hungary. Its height is 884 m according to Austrian sources, whereas Hungarian references mostly mention 883 m. It is the highest mountain of Western Hungary and of...
. The castle is the setting for the medieval scenes in Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
's mystery drama, The Soul's Probation.
Architectural features
The castle’s windows and pillars are well decorated and there are many frescoes. The CryptCrypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
reflects the artistic style of the 13th century. The douple-apsed Kultraum, located on the first floor in the centre of the building, was originally entered through and lit only by a hole in the ceiling; it may have been connected with the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
and is also known as the "Knight's Hall". The high-vaulted Rittersaal (Great Hall
Great Hall
Great Hall may refer to* Great hall, the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or large manor house* Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Beijing* Great Hall of the University of Sydney, Australia* Cooper_Union#The_Great_Hall, New York...
) was originally used for mass eating and drinking; it is now the Gothic Knights' Hall, with Gothic cross ribbed vaulting. Red algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
persistently grow near the entrance to the hall in the area where the last Knights Templar were murdered. Outer walls have circular towers and a new conference hall above the Knight's Hall can accommodate 600 people. The chapel with frescoes is in a tower. Several rooms, corridors, stairwells and sanitary works have also been renovated.
The dungeon is particularly notable. It was hewn out of the rock by Turkish prisoners. According to one document, sixteen Turks were burnt alive in it in 1557. Another feature is the so-called cult room, an underground room about which there are various theories.
Avifaunal areas
The building has a Greifvogelstation, which is home to birds of prey. Every year some 1200 bats give birth here. An audio visual presentation and night vision devices are part of the programme, arranged by the Trust Administration, which gives details on the reproduction and child rearing, hunting behavior and diet, and annual cycle of the bats. There are two courtyards, the lower one having a Burgtaverne.
Torture chamber
A spiral stone staircase gradually narrows until a person can no longer move forward except for a black opening in front of the feet. The torture chamber
Torture chamber
A torture chamber is a room where torture is inflicted.- Methods of coercion :According to Frederick Howard Wines in his book Punishment and Reformation: A Study Of The Penitentiary System there were three main types of coercion employed in the torture chamber: Coercion by the cord, by water and...
includes an Iron Maiden, in the center of the room. It was two-faced with an opening for the victim and had sharp spikes on the inside. Other features in the torture chamber are a narrow couch, rusty chains, stone balls, a trapdoor, manacles, crushers and pincers.
Subterranean
The sepulchre
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
of the Nadasdy family is built of square stones, and vaulted in round arches which rest on columns. It is a long subterranean gallery, lit only by one circular aperture, which can be closed by a stone. A second sepulchre, situated under the suite of rooms once used by the lord of the castle is dug deep into solid rock and is divided into two distinct compartments by a long line of stunted pillars upon which there are rounded arches. The whole subterranean area has been elaborately ornamented with statues carved in wood of which some fragments still remain. A vault is accessed through a large hall that is lit by two narrow arched windows. In the right hand corner there is a well, dug fifty fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s deep into the rock.
Tourism
The castle facilities are available for cultural events, conferences, seminars and meetings. The castle's Festaal is used for concerts; it is the centrepiece of Kammermustikfest, a chamber music festival initiated in 1982 by Pastor Herowitsch of Lockenhaus and the violinist Gidon KremerGidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.-Biography:Kremer was born in Riga to parents of German-Jewish and Latvian-Swedish origins. He began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather,...
of Riga. Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival
Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival
The Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival is an annual chamber music festival located in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is held at three venues in Lockenhaus: Burg Lockenhaus castle, Church of St. Nikolaus, and the old monastery of Lockenhaus...
is an annual event.
External links
- Official website (German language)