Arnstein castle ruins

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Arnstein
Arnstein castle ruins (May 2011)

Arnstein castle ruins (May 2011)

Creation time : 12th Century
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Maria Raisenmarkt
Geographical location 48 ° 1 '46.1 "  N , 16 ° 3' 58.3"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 1 '46.1 "  N , 16 ° 3' 58.3"  E
Height: 520  m above sea level A.
Arnstein castle ruins (Lower Austria)
Arnstein castle ruins

The Arnstein castle ruins are the ruins of a hilltop castle on a foothill of the Peilstein in the Lower Austrian village of Maria Raisenmarkt . Remains of the wall of a round tower, a castle gate and the palace are preserved .

history

Arnstein Castle was first mentioned in writing in 1170. The first lord of the castle and builder of the complex was Wichard von Arnstein, who at that time was the feudal lord of the Hohen Lindkogel and the Peilstein. The von Arnstein family owned the castle until the 14th century. From 1329 the owners changed several times. The destruction of Arnstein Castle most likely happened during the first Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529. The castle was not rebuilt after that. More traditional owners of the ruins are members of the noble family Wolzogen in the 17th century, the estate of Emperor Ferdinand II. Sold. A family named Sima and the Counts of Wimpffen are recorded as owners of the castle ruins in the 19th century . Recyclable stones from the castle ruins were partly removed by the locals and used, among other things, for the construction of the church in Raisenmarkt.

Name interpretation

The name Arnstein is made up of Arn and stone . Arn is interpreted as deriving from Aar , a historical name for the eagle , and castles were generally referred to as stone until the Middle Ages . The name Arnstein can therefore be translated as Adlerburg .

legend

The following legend has been passed down about Arnstein Castle: Once upon a time, the castle was inhabited by a malicious woman who always treated her subordinates and other poor people badly, for example by setting her dogs on them. When her husband, the lord of the castle, was on a crusade, she gave birth to a child. However, this was misshapen, it was born with the face of a dog. The woman then drowned it. When her husband returned home and found out about the crime, he punished his wife for the death of the child. He locked her in a barrel that had been prepared with nails on the inside, and let her roll down the rocky slope of the castle hill with it. According to legend, the church of Maria Raisenmarkt was built at the point where the barrel finally came to a standstill, and it became a place of pilgrimage.

Arnstein Cave and Arnstein Needle

Arnstein Cave (May 2011)

Below the castle ruins is the Arnstein cave (cadastral number 1911/4). The 128 meter long cave was probably used by the castle residents as a stable for their cattle, at the entrance there are still remnants of earlier masonry. At the end of the 19th century, bones of cave bears , cave hyenas and reindeer were discovered in the cave . The archaeological excavations that were then carried out led to the spread of the rumor among the population that a gold treasure had been discovered in the cave. This in turn led to the fact that locals began to dig in the cave and around the castle ruins for the supposed hidden treasures. Today the Arnstein cave and the castle rock above is used by the Austrian Mountain Association as a training area.

The approximately 13 meter high Arnstein Needle is the most striking rock formation on the castle ruins. The rock needle is classified as a natural monument and is considered to be in danger of collapsing. Originally the Arnstein needle was significantly higher, but since part of the rock loosened, it had to be removed for safety reasons. Some local researchers suspect a pagan place of worship near the needle, others see it as a symbol of fertility. The first ascent of the Arnstein Needle is recorded for the year 1899.

Others

At the end of the 19th century, human bones were discovered in the remains of the castle dungeon . The amateur researcher Carl Kryspin then published a report according to which a local fell from the castle rock and died when he opposed the legendary wild hunt that crossed the Peilstein.

literature

  • Ilse Schöndorfer: Stones and Legends - Castle ruins in Lower Austria . 1st edition. Verlag Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus, St. Pölten / Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85326-114-0 , pp. 187-190.
  • Carl Georg Kryspin: Ruin Arnstein near Mayerling in the Viennese forest . Hölder, Vienna 1891. - Full text online .

Web links

Commons : Burgruine Arnstein  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Arnstein Castle and Needle. Dorfgemeinschaft Maria Raisenmarkt, accessed on October 1, 2015 (from: Erich and Christl Dorffner: Das Buch von Alland , Gemeinde Alland, 2002).
  2. ↑ a b B. Engelbrecht: Arnstein castle ruins (Maria Raisenmarkt / Alland). In: Kulturatlas Niederösterreich. Retrieved October 1, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b Josef Heßler: From our mountains - Arnstein ruins. In: Badener Zeitung, edition of December 2, 1908 ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ The saga of Arnstein. Dorfgemeinschaft Maria Raisenmarkt, accessed on October 1, 2015 (from: Erich and Christl Dorffner: Das Buch von Alland , Gemeinde Alland, 2002).
  5. ↑ a b Bernd Orfer: A climbing mountain that makes hikers happy. derstandard.at, January 13, 2012, accessed October 1, 2015 .
  6. ↑ The Arnsteinschluf (1911/87), the Arnsteinlöcher (1911/88) and the Tiegerhöhle (1911/48) join immediately to the south. The Schnatti Cave (1911/55) is located a few meters to the north.
  7. ↑ Helga Hartmann, Wilhelm Hartmann: Die Höhlen Niederösterreichs . Ed .: Regional Association for Speleology in Vienna and Lower Austria. tape 2 : Türnitz Alps and foreland, northern Gutenstein Alps, Wienerviertel, Manhartsberg, Weinviertel. Vienna 1982, p. 216–218 (with map).
  8. ^ Christian Stadelmann, Werner Grand: The Vienna Woods . Sutton Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86680-101-1 , pp. 27 ( Google Books ).