Location

The Finkenstein Castle Ruin is a castle in Carinthia

Carinthia (state)

Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 situated on a steep cliff to the south at the foot of the Karavanke and above the Faaker See

Faaker See

Faaker See or Lake Faak is an alpine lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia. With a surface of approximately 2.2 km² it is the state's fifth largest lake. Faaker See is a popular vacation and bathing destination, known for its clear turquoise water...

.

History

The castle was first mentioned in 1142. It was owned by the Dukes of Carinthia

Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....

 who gave it to their ministeriales

Ministerialis

Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...

, who called themselves after the castle von Finkenstein

Finck von Finckenstein

- Origins :The first representative of this family appeared authentically with 'Nicze of Roghusen' in 1388 in Roggenhausen in East Prussia according to the state archive in Koenigsberg. Under its current name, the house appears authentically in 1451 with 'Michael Fincke' who calls himself 'Finck...

. In 1223 there was a dispute between Heinrich von Finkenstein and Bishop Henry of Bamberg

Bamberg

Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...

, the owner of the nearby castle Federaun

Burgruine Federaun

Burgruine Federaun is a castle in Carinthia, Austria....

 regarding the crossing of the river Gail. After the extinction of the Carinthian Finkensteins

Finck von Finckenstein

- Origins :The first representative of this family appeared authentically with 'Nicze of Roghusen' in 1388 in Roggenhausen in East Prussia according to the state archive in Koenigsberg. Under its current name, the house appears authentically in 1451 with 'Michael Fincke' who calls himself 'Finck...

 at the beginning of the 14th Century -a cadet branch of the Finck von Finckenstein came after possibly participating in the Third Crusade

Third Crusade

The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...

 to prominence in Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

-, the ownership was passed back to the Dukes of Carinthia, which had been the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 since 1335. Emperor Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

, Duke of Carinthia since 1493 gave the castle and the rule to his liegeman Sigismund von Dietrichstein

Dietrichstein

Dietrichstein was the name of a German/Austrian noble family.Maximilian von Dietrichstein was created Graf von Dietrichstein on 18 September 1612 and Fürst von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg on 24 March 1639...

, whose descendants held the castle still 1861. Since the end of the 18th century, it is no longer inhabited and decayed, only ruins remain.

Building Specifications

The oldest parts of the castle are Romanesque. In the second half of the 16th century, was rebuilt in late Gothic style. At the beginning of this century, four gates were built in the High Castle. The 15 m high end wall of the former palace still stands today.
Today Finkenstein Castle Ruin is the backdrop of the Burgarena, an amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

with 1150 seats mainly used for concerts.

Literature

• Hugo Henckel-Donnersmarck: Burgen und Schlösser in Kärnten. Leon, Klagenfurt (2 Bände).
• F.X. Kohla, G. A. v. Metnitz, G. Moro: Kärntner Burgenkunde Erster Teil - Kärntens Burgen, Schlösser Ansitze und wehrhafte Stätten Geschichtsverein für Kärnten, Klagenfurt 1973
• Michael Leischner, Alois Brandstetter: Burgen und Schlösser in Kärnten. Carinthia, Klagenfurt 2000, ISBN 3-85378-520-4.
• Georg Clam Martinic: Österreichisches Burgenlexikon. Burgen und Ruinen, Ansitze, Schlösser und Palais. 2. Auflage. Landesverlag, Linz 1992, ISBN 3-85214-559-7.
• Gerhard Stenzel: Von Burg zu Burg in Österreich. Kremayr & Scheriau, Wien 1973, ISBN 3-218-00229-X.
• Hermann Wiessner, Margareta Vyoral-Tschapka: "Burgen und Schlösser in Kärnten - Hermagor, Spittal/Drau, Villach" 2. erweiterte Auflage, Birken-Verlag, Wien 1986