Landsee Castle, Landsee, Austria - SpottingHistory.com

Landsee Castle was built in the 12th century. The mighty complex is one of Europe’s biggest defensive structures. The Esterhazy family has owned the fortress for centuries. In the 18th century a fire destroyed the bastion that was once thought of as impregnable.

The view from the castle keep of the Pannonian plain, across to the Geschriebenstein and the foothills of the Alps, is unsurpassed. The imposing site, set in unspoiled scenery, exerts a special attraction.

The five defensive walls and five-storey keep are an impressive sight. There are interesting guided tours for adults and children; a well-signposted route transports visitors to a time long ago.

Today the still imposing ruins are overgrown with trees and shrubs. The ruins have been given a lease of new life with the creation of the nature reserve and as a venue for open-air events.

References:

burgenland.info

User Reviews

Kaya Bicer (14 months ago)
OK

Natalia Khilkevitch (2 years ago)
Nice view and interesting place, but the entrance fee for such a place is a bit exaggerated...

Daniel Deviant (2 years ago)
An amazing castle in Austria with a beautiful view from the tower!

Marcin Bera (3 years ago)
We came when castle was already closed but we walked this around with my son and we were really impressed. The walls are in pretty decent condition and allow to value it how the castle was big. It was nice to walk as well due to lovely forest surrounding castle.

Klaus Rubba (4 years ago)
Small admission fee, and glad to see it is going I to restoring the place and build out of some facilities. Always love visiting this place, huge ruins, plenty in tact, and great views

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The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

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The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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