Burgruine Katzenstein: A Medieval Defensive Tower in Erl, Austria

Visitor Information

Google Rating: 4.2

Popularity: Very Low

Google Maps: View on Google Maps

Country: Austria

Civilization: Unclassified

Remains: Military

History

Burgruine Katzenstein stands within the municipality of Erl in Austria and was constructed by the medieval inhabitants of the region as a defensive tower. The building of the tower likely began around 1392, during a period when the territory of Kufstein had been transferred to the Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt. Its creation was part of broader border defenses known as the Windhausen fortifications, designed to secure the boundary against the neighboring Duke of Bavaria-Munich’s lands.

By the early 15th century, the tower was integrated into the military strategies during the conflict between Landshut and Ingolstadt. Around 1420, it actively formed part of the defensive line along this contested border. After the conclusion of the Landshut War of Succession in 1504, jurisdiction of the area shifted to the County of Tyrol. The tower then became the northernmost outpost for Tyrol’s frontier, highlighting its continuing strategic importance.

Throughout the 17th century, the tower saw action in several military engagements. It successfully withstood attacks in 1611 and endured conflict during the Thirty Years’ War. Records from 1623 display a defensive complex including a palisade and a gatehouse, emphasizing the site’s fortified character. Again, in June 1703 during the War of Spanish Succession, Tyrolean militia and regular troops defended the tower for multiple days against opposing forces.

Anticipating further conflicts, the fortifications were reinforced prior to the Austrian Succession War beginning in 1740. On November 3, 1744, the tower repelled a prolonged Bavarian assault, demonstrating its resilience. A later sketch from 1777 shows the addition of a blockhouse serving as a lookout above the tower. However, after 1782, much of the surrounding fortifications were dismantled, with only the tower itself remaining intact.

Hostilities returned at the start of the 19th century with attacks on the tower in the winter of 1800 and 1801. The structure’s final military role came on May 12, 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars. French-Bavarian allied with Saxon troops launched an attack that overcame the Tyrolean defenders once their ammunition was exhausted. Following its capture, the tower was deliberately destroyed. In the 19th century, the ruin became known locally as “Burg Katzenstein” and also as “Ruine Todtenschlößl,” names inspired more by regional legends than by documented history.

Remains

The site features the remains of a late medieval defensive tower positioned on a slope at the foot of the Kranzhorn mountain, approximately 50 meters above the Inn River. The tower’s base is square in shape and was originally constructed as a three-story structure. Today, the ground floor has been buried over time, but marks left by beams suggest the arrangement and height of the original floors.

Within the surviving walls, there are openings of varied sizes which once served as windows and narrow arrow slits, designed for observation and defense. The building’s northwest corner has suffered complete collapse, leaving a notable gap in the structure’s perimeter.

Immediately to the north of the tower, vestiges of the defensive system that once surrounded it remain visible in the form of an earthen rampart and a ditch. These earthworks were part of the Windhausen fortifications and provided additional protection at the border. Together, the tower and the earthworks illustrate the layered nature of medieval frontier defenses still evident at the site today.