Lockenhaus Castle: A Medieval Fortress in Austria
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Austria
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Hungarian
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page16 sections
History
Lockenhaus Castle is a medieval fortress in Austria, built around 1200 in Romanesque and Gothic traditions. Initially known as Leuca or Léka, it stands near the Hungarian border and is described as the oldest fortress in Burgenland. Illyrians and Celts are credited with constructing the fortress from locally available materials, while the first written reference to it dates from 1242.
Early fortress and medieval lords
Settlements in the surrounding area reach back to the Stone Age. The territory later became part of the Roman province of Pannonia, which covered parts of the middle Danube region. German and Slavic communities subsequently inhabited the castle and its surroundings.
The fortress was built to defend the region against the Mongols, the Eurasian empire founded by Genghis Khan that expanded westward during the thirteenth century. Among its notable medieval owners were Frederick II, Duke of Austria, Henry II of Güssing, and Ottakar II, King of Bohemia. Charles I of Hungary destroyed the castle in 1337.
Control of Lockenhaus passed through several Central European noble houses. The Güssinger family held it from 1266 to 1390, followed by the Kanizsay family from 1390 to 1535, the Nádasdy family from 1535 to 1676, and the Esterházy family from 1676 to 1968. Lockenhaus received market-town status in 1492. King Maximilian II was also among the castle’s recorded owners.
The Nádasdy and Esterházy period
After Lockenhaus passed to the Nádasdy family, Francis II Nádasdy married Elizabeth Báthory, the Hungarian noblewoman later remembered in historical tradition as the “Blood Countess.” The accusations associated with Báthory have long been contested in their interpretation. They were reportedly annulled through a contrived legal action intended to remove her from her fiefs, where the claims first appeared.
Francis III Nádasdy, who ruled from 1622 to 1671, carried out substantial improvements in the castle and town. From 1664 he held the offices of Lord Lieutenant, Royal Councillor, Chief Chamberlain, and Chief Justice. His marriage to Julia Anna Esterházy, daughter of Palatine Nikolaus Esterházy, connected the Nádasdy and Esterházy families.
In 1676, Count Paul Esterházy, Francis III Nádasdy’s brother-in-law, took possession of the castle. The Turkish War of 1683, a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and its opponents in Central Europe, caused substantial damage to both Lockenhaus and its castle. An uprising in the eighteenth century brought further looting and destruction.
Restoration and cultural use
No change in the castle’s status is recorded during the First World War or the period up to 1921. Reconstruction began only after the Second World War, under the Red Army. In 1968, Professor Paul Anton Keller and his wife, Margaret, acquired the castle when it stood in ruins and began its refurbishment. Keller died before the work was complete, but Margaret continued the project and finished it. In his honour, the institution became the Professor Paul Anton Keller Foundation, Castle Lockenhaus.
A board of trustees established in July 1980 directed later restoration, supported by additional funds raised from the public. Eugene Horvath, a retired general and financial consultant, made a substantial contribution to the foundation’s activities. The castle is a protected monument and forms part of Naturpark Geschriebenstein.
Lockenhaus has also acquired a cultural history beyond its medieval associations. It served as a setting for medieval scenes in Rudolf Steiner’s mystery drama The Soul’s Probation. Its rooms have been used for cultural events, conferences, seminars, and meetings. The Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival was founded in 1982 by Pastor Herovitch of Lockenhaus and the Riga-born violinist Gidon Kremer, and continues as an annual event.
Remains
Lockenhaus Castle stands 368 metres above sea level on a hill spur now called Castle Hill, in the southeastern part of Lockenhaus. It occupies a hilly setting in the Güns Valley, with a lake immediately to the east. Built in Romanesque and Gothic styles, the complex has outer walls with circular towers and two courtyards. The lower courtyard contains a castle tavern, while the surviving rooms, underground spaces, worship areas, and halls preserve evidence of the fortress’s changing functions.
Courtyards and principal halls
Worship room
The double-apsed worship room occupies the centre of the first floor. It originally had an entrance and received light through an opening in the ceiling. The room may have been associated with the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order connected with fortified religious and military establishments. It is also known as the Knight’s Hall, although its interpretation remains subject to other views.
Great Hall
The high-vaulted Great Hall originally served for communal eating and drinking. Now called the Gothic Knights’ Hall, it has Gothic cross-ribbed vaulting. A newer conference hall above it can accommodate 600 people.
The windows and columns throughout the castle are richly decorated, and numerous frescoes survive. One tower contains a chapel with frescoes, adding a religious space to the castle’s defensive and residential architecture.
Underground rooms and burial spaces
Dungeon and cult room
A dungeon was cut from the rock by Turkish prisoners. A document records that sixteen Turks were burned alive there in 1557. A separate underground cult room is also recorded. A cult room is understood as a space with a ritual or religious function, but the purpose of this chamber remains open to different theories.
Nádasdy sepulchre
The Nádasdy family sepulchre forms a long underground gallery built from square stones. Its round-arched vaults rest on columns, and a circular opening provides light to the gallery. The opening can be closed with a stone.
Second sepulchre
A second sepulchre beneath the suite formerly used by the castle lord is cut deep into solid rock. A long line of short pillars with rounded arches divides the chamber into two compartments. The underground area was elaborately decorated with wooden statues, and fragments of those statues remain.
Chambers, stairways, and animal habitats
Vault and well
A large hall with two narrow arched windows leads to a vault. In the hall’s right-hand corner, a well descends deep into the rock and is described as fifty fathoms deep. Several rooms, corridors, stairways, and sanitary installations have been renovated.
Torture chamber
A spiral stone staircase narrows progressively until movement is possible toward a black opening at floor level. The torture chamber contains an Iron Maiden, described as a two-sided enclosure with an opening for the victim and sharp internal spikes. Other objects and fittings include a narrow couch, rusty chains, stone balls, a trapdoor, manacles, crushers, and pincers.
Red algae persistently grow near the entrance to the Knights’ Hall, in the area traditionally associated with the killing of the last Knights Templar. The castle also contains a birds-of-prey station. Approximately 1,200 bats give birth there each year, and audiovisual material with night-vision equipment explains their reproduction, rearing of young, hunting behaviour, diet, and annual cycle.
Festival Hall
The Festival Hall is used for concerts and serves as the central venue for the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival. Its present cultural function forms part of the castle’s continued use alongside its preserved medieval spaces.
