Engelstein Castle was first mentioned in 1417 but it is probably much older. It is probable that at first it was a simple watch tower, guarding a nearby road crossing, which was upgraded to a water castle after the destruction of Hadmarstein Castle on the nearby Johannisberg mountain at the end of the 13th century. It was situated on a granite cliff surrounded on 3 sides by small lakes.
In 1531 the castle went to Benedikt Schaul who started to transform the still medieval fortress into a Renaissance castle. The Barons of Windhag continued this elaborate reconstruction and gave the castle its present outlook. The costs however were so enormous that the barons were soon heavily indebted after which the castle was confiscated at the end of the 16th century.
In 1619 Engelstein Castle was stormed by Imperial troops and plundered. In 1681 it was bought by Adam Anton Graf Gundemann, whose descendants owned the castle for the next 150 years. Then it went to the Barons of Geusau who owned it until 1916.
Several other owners followed until it was acquired by the industrialist Erich Meinl in 1964. By then the castle was in a bad state due to being plundered and neglected during and after World War II. Now the bailey is inhabited by a descendant of Meinl.
At present Engelstein Castle is privately inhabited and can thus not be visited.
References:The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city, it is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. The cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles.
The site where it stands was the principal mosque of Lisbon when it was an Arab settlement. The construction of the cathedral started around 1150, three years after the city was conquered from the Moors during the Second Crusade. Shortly after the victory the English knight Gilbert of Hastings was named bishop of the city of Lisbon.
One good reason to visit the Cathedral is to visit its charming cloisters located in the back. There are several tombs in the cathedral, the most notable of which is the beautifully sculpted tomb of Lopo Fernandes Pacheco and his wife.