Gösting Castle Ruins, Graz, Austria

The ruins of Gösting castle offer the perfect destination for a trek within easy reach of Graz. The steep but short ascent passes by the ‘Jungfernsprung’, the place from which, legend has it, the lovesick and grief-stricken Anna von Gösting threw herself to her doom. Further up, by the castle ruins, there are impressive views of the strategically important valley of the river Mur, Graz itself and the landscape around Gösting.

The castle was built in the 11th century and the first record dates from 1042. It was frequently extended until the 15th century as a fortress to provide protection against the Turks and Hungarians. It was part of the signalling fire system, which was supposed to warn the population in case of danger.

In 1707, the castle and domain were acquired by the Counts of Attems. On July 10, 1723, lightning struck the gunpowder magazine, and a large part of the castle burnt down. It was not rebuilt and in 1728 it was replaced with the new Baroque residence of the Attems family.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Nikolai Siurdyna (6 years ago)
Stunning!

Andrea Šandová (7 years ago)
Very nice place. 20 minutes out of village by food. Beautiful ruins of old castle. There is lovely house where you can buy something to eat And drink (soups And hot food). There is no electricity And water, So it is cooked in Black kitchen :-) Very good And interesting. I recomend to see And try it :-)

Marja Ehrstedt (7 years ago)
Nice walk aprox 30 min in beautiful hillside / forest and great views.

Oleksandr Serhiienko (7 years ago)
Cool place, easy to get!) Outstanding view)

Filippo Casamassima (9 years ago)
Very nice place, close to the City. On the Castle there is a small tavern, inside the castle! It is quite spartan, as is should be. The ladies there bring every day all the food. It was open also during winter, with Snow on the road! You can get a soup or a beer for 2-3 Eur.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Gösting Castle Ruins

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche