Ruine Merkenstein

20.01.2019 - Today at minus degrees and sunshine once again to the ruin Merkenstein up, powerful enthroned at the end of the Gainfarner bay and is built on a rock, on the flat surface of the front side of the square, is below a very large underground space , supposedly this is a portico!

30.12.2015 - The castle Merkenstein is a worth seeing ruin ... Mystic today sunk in the fog ... Mystical Foto's of the Merkenstein in fog.

kultkraftplatz.com/burgruine-merkenstein

Until 1322 the Merkensteiner sat on the castle until they had to pass it on. The next important owners of the castle were the Wallese, the castle Merkenstein kept a good 100 years, until they had to pass the castle in 1440 for financial and family reasons to Stephan von Hohenberg. The Hohenberg ruled over Merkenstein until 1484. The castle was once the scene of an imperial siege.
In 1482, the lord of the castle, Hans III. von Hohenberg his castles Merkenstein, Hohenberg and Kreisbach the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus available in his war against Emperor Frederick III. Thereupon the emperor sent an army against Merkenstein, but the siege failed after altogether four weeks. In 1484, Hans III. reconciled with Frederick and then sold him Castle Merkenstein. The castle was now sovereign and received by imperial envoys.
In 1486, however, King Matthias Corvinus returned and captured Merkenstein. After his death, the castle fell back to the kingdom. 1603 to 1672 it was owned by the family Heißperger, then the Dietrichsteiner. In 1683, the castle was taken by Ottoman troops and destroyed.

The Merkensteiners sat in the castle until 1322, until they had to pass it on. The next important castle owners were the Wallseers, who held Merkenstein Castle (also Merchenstein or Marchinstein) for a good 100 years until they had to pass the castle on to Stephan von Hohenberg in 1440 for financial and family reasons. The Hohenbergers ruled over Merkenstein until 1484. The castle was once the scene of an imperial siege. In 1482 the then lord of the castle, Hans III. von Hohenberg made his castles Merkenstein, Hohenberg and Kreisbach available to the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus in his war against Emperor Friedrich III. The emperor then sent an army against Merkenstein, but the siege failed after a total of four weeks. 1484 had Hans III. reconciled with Friedrich and then sold Merkenstein Castle to him. The castle was now sovereign and received by imperial envoys. In 1486, however, King Matthias Corvinus returned and conquered Merkenstein. After his death, the castle reverted to the empire. From 1603 to 1672 it was owned by the Heißperger family, then by the Dietrichsteiner. In August 1683, after a long siege, Ottoman troops succeeded in taking the castle and setting it on fire. 173 people lost their lives in the castle. Since then the castle has fallen into disrepair. The outer walls of quarry stone are still relatively well preserved. Due to the lack of ring walls, they are particularly strong (up to 6 m). After the destruction, the Dietrichsteiner estate administration was moved to the old Gainfarn Castle.
Until the end of the Second World War, the castle and the estate were owned by the German line of the Krupp family. Therefore, after the war (1945-1955) it fell into the USIA administration of the Soviets as German property. According to the state treaty, the castle became the property of the republic and thus of the federal forests. The castle has been privately owned since 1978 and has been carefully restored ever since.
The German composer Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated two songs to the ruins of Merkenstein.
In October 2008, the ruins were the scene of filming for the television crime series Four Women and a Death.

It's worth it because of the sense of adventure that comes over you when you walk along the narrow forest trails and look at the old walls.

Say about Merkenstein Castle:

yumpu.com/de/document/read/24627430/sagen-um-merkenstein-volksschule-bad-voslau

The Merkenstein castle ruins are not only of importance for regional history (Matthias Corvinus) due to their location, which is important in terms of defense, but also played their role during the Turkish sieges.

Since the time when the castle was founded and who built it are unknown, the ancestral lords of Merkenstein can be dated to the early 12th century. Under Erasmus von der Haid, the castle was damaged during the first Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529. When he dies in 1540, Franz von Ficin becomes administrator of the castle. Ficin is not popular with the population, he has several disputes with the authorities and his subjects (Merkensteiner Peasant Uprising). In addition, he lets both the castle (despite the amount of money approved, no restorations) and the rulership (many farmers moved to neighboring rulers and let their farms go neglected) to decay. In 1672 the castle was sold to Gundakar von Dietrichstein. Merkenstein has remained in the possession of the Dietrichstein family for over 150 years. Under their rule, the castle was destroyed and turned into ruins, because in 1683 a Turkish troop besieged the castle again. This resists for a long time, until one day the Turks manage to storm the walls and conquer the castle. All refugees (173 people) who fled here are killed and the castle itself is destroyed by flames. The burnt out castle remains in ruins.

Until 1322 the Merkensteiner sat on the castle until they had to pass it on. The next important owners of the castle were the Wallese, the castle Merkenstein kept a good 100 years, until they had to pass the castle in 1440 for financial and family reasons to Stephan von Hohenberg. The Hohenberg ruled over Merkenstein until 1484. The castle was once the scene of an imperial siege.

In 1482, the lord of the castle, Hans III. von Hohenberg his castles Merkenstein, Hohenberg and Kreisbach the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus available in his war against Emperor Frederick III. Thereupon the emperor sent an army against Merkenstein, but the siege failed after altogether four weeks. In 1484, Hans III. reconciled with Frederick and then sold him Castle Merkenstein. The castle was now sovereign and received by imperial envoys.

In 1486, however, King Matthias Corvinus returned and captured Merkenstein. After his death, the castle fell back to the kingdom. 1603 to 1672 it was owned by the family Heißperger, then the Dietrichsteiner. In 1683, the castle was taken by Ottoman troops and destroyed.

For rule Merkenstein counted in the 16th century except Gainfarn and Großau the rule Pottenstein and the offices Furth, Muggendorf and St. Veit.

Gründungszeit und Erbauer der Burg sind unbekannt.
1141 wird Hugo von Merkenstein bei einer Grundstücksübergabe als Zeuge belegt, am 28. Oktober 1314 scheint ein Ulricus Merchenstain in einer Urkunde auf, die einen ersten schriftlichen Beleg von der Existenz der Burg darstellt - die Merkensteins gelten somit als Stammherren der Anlage.
Viele Familien, wie z.B. Weitra, Walsee, Hohenberg und Haid, scheinen als Besitzer auf. Ebenso ist Franz von Ficin (1540-1585) für Großau (neben Merkenstein und Gainfarn) als Verwalter zuständig. Seine Amtszeit ist geprägt von schweren Auseinandersetzungen mit seinen Untertanen (Merkensteiner Bauernaufstände), von Streit, Gewalttaten und Einschränkungen der Kirchenrechte. Zudem lässt er die Burg und die Herrschaft verkommen, bleibt aber auf Merkenstein, weil sowohl der Kaiser als auch die Erzherzöge große Schulden bei ihm haben. Erst nach seinem Tod geht die Herrschaft (da er kinderlos gestoben ist) wieder in kaiserlichen Besitz. 1601 kauft Jonas d. Ältere von Heysberg die Herrschaft. Unter ihm und seinen Nachfolgern Jonas d. J. und Raimund bekommt die Burg ihr endgültiges Aussehen (Erker im Innenhof, Sonnenuhr mit der Jahreszahl 1651 an der südlichen Außenmauer).
In Ermangelung von Erben wird Merkenstein 1672 an Gundakar von Dietrichstein verkauft und bleibt über 150 Jahre im Besitz der Familie. Unter ihrer Herrschaft wird die Burg 1683 durch die Türken zerstört und zur Ruine.
Nur einige Räume finden weiter Verwendung und 1844 werden zwei Zimmer des ersten Stockes wieder bewohnbar gemacht. Der Amtssitz der Herrschaft wird nach Gainfarn verlegt, Joseph Karl von Dietrichstein baut 1801-1803 ein Wohnhaus und ein Wirtschaftsgebäude im Schweizerstil und erneuert die Kapelle im Park. Joachim Eduard von Münch-Bellinghausen erwirbt das Gut 1829 durch Kauf und lässt das eben erst errichtete Gebäude 1843 bzw. 1844 erneut errichten - es entstand das heutige Schloss Merkenstein. (Jetzt renoviert und Privatbesitz).
Adolf Freiherr Brenner-Felsach erbte das Gut 1866 und gibt es seinerseits an seinen Sohn Joachim weiter. Am Beginn des 20. Jhd. stehen Firmen wie etwa Leopold Kern (1911) und Arthur Krupp (1917) in der Besitzerreihe. Nach 1955 (russische Verwaltung) übernimmt das Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft bzw. danach die Österreichischen Bundesforste dieses Amt. Die Familie Klinger bemüht sich seit 1978 um die Erhaltung und den Weiterbestand der ehemaligen Burg Merkenstein.
Heute ist die Ruine ausschließlich im Rahmen von Führungen zu besuchen.

The Merkenstein castle ruins are a former hilltop castle in the Vienna Woods. The legendary ruin, which originally belonged to the most important fortifications of the former Duchy of Austria, is now one of the most famous places of cult and power in southern Lower Austria. [1]

Unfortunately currently closed for renovation!