Castle Map

Ruin

Prandegg Castle

Austria

Heritage status
Listed objects in Austria
Location
Schönau im Mühlkreis
Coordinates
48.4147°, 14.6667°
Links
Wikimedia Commons
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Prandegg Castle in Austria
Photo: TheTokl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Prandegg Castle is a ruined hill castle in Austria, near the village of Schönau im Mühlkreis in the Freistadt District (which lies in the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria).

Prandegg is an elongated castle on a hilltop adjacent to a collection of rocky cliffs. It lies at 705 metres (2,313 ft) above the Adriatic (the primary sea level determinate of Austria), between two valleys formed by the river Waldaist and the smaller stream Prandegg. Gutau is 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) as the crow flies, with Schönau im Mühlkreis lying 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) away. The nearest village is Pehersdorf, along Hiking Trail No. 82 (Wanderweg Nr. 82).

The Name Prandegg refers to the terrain on which the castle was constructed: this included an area of forest that was clear-cut using fire (in standard German Brand, which means "fire", rendered in the local dialect as prant) and a large, exposed rocky outcropping (from the standard German Ecke, for corner, rendered in the local dialect as egg).

Following the rocky outcropping upon which it is set, the castle is long and narrow. The total area of the grounds is 2,435 square metres (0.60 acres), of which the main castle occupies 1,490 square metres (0.37 acres). A previous structure, the late Romanesque old castle (Altburg), which was built at the end of the 12th century, was at the highest point of the northern ridge, and though it no longer exists, it once covered 340 square metres (3,700 ft2). Nearby to the south, a castle chapel once stood, as well as a barrel-vaulted passage connecting it to the interior courtyard. A castle gate, a small gatehouse, and a palas were erected nearby as well, opposite a series of farm buildings.

The residential buildings have been preserved up to a height of several stories, at least along the outer walls. In some cases, plaster layers, bay windows, window frames, window alcoves and pointed arch portals are still visible. The main castle is separated by a high wall from the bergfried, a powerful defensive tower typical of castles in German-speaking area. The bergfried of the Prandegg Castle is a 26-metre (85 ft) high, round tower built on a natural outcropping of rocks and with an elevated entrance. It is accessible today by a wooden bridge or simple wooden set of stairs and serves as a lookout point for the surrounding area.

Text adapted from “Prandegg Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Prandegg Castle ranks #7,973 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #252 of the 316 mapped in Austria. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Linz, 31 km away. See how Austria compares in the castle statistics.

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