Lockenhaus Castle

Burg Lockenhaus (Hungarian Léka) is a castle and medieval fortress in the Güns Valley in the southeastern part of Lockenhaus, in Burgenland, eastern Austria. Burg Lockenhaus is 368 metres (1,207 ft) above sea level. The castle was built in Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles around 1200, and was initially called "Leuca" or Léka. It is part of the Naturpark Geschriebenstein.

The castle is in the Güns Valley, set amidst a hilly terrain in eastern Austria, near the Hungarian border towards Kőszeg. It is in the southeastern part of the town of Lockenhaus, roughly 120 kilometres (75 mi) 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.

Lords 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 Stephen VIII 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.

Text adapted from “Burg Lockenhaus” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lockenhaus Castle ranks #1,761 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #39 of the 200 mapped in Austria. Founded 1200, it is older than 77% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 544 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,939 times in the last 60 days, more than 66% of the atlas. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Graz, 83 km away. See how Austria compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗