The Castle Falkenstein Castle Ruin (de

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

. Burg Falkenstein, lit. Castle Falcon Stone) is located in the Weinviertel

Weinviertel

The Weinviertel or Viertel unter dem Manhartsberg is located in the northeast of Lower Austria....

 region of Lower Austria

Lower Austria

Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...

, about 55 km north of Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 near the border to Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

.

The history of the castle from the 11th century is as old as the settlement of the region. It was founded around 1050 by Emperor Henry III

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry III , called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors...

. 1106 Leopold III, Margrave of Austria

Leopold III, Margrave of Austria

Saint Leopold III was the Margrave of Austria in 1073–1136. He is the patron saint of Austria, of the city of Vienna, of Lower Austria, and, jointly with Saint Florian, of Upper Austria. His feast day is November 15.-Biography:...

 purchased the castle, from then on it was owned by the rulers of Austria.
1572 Maximilian II

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...

 sold Falkenstein to the Baron (later Count) of Trautson.

In 1645, in the last period of the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

Falkenstein was conquered by Swedish forces, but not destroyed. Its decay began at the end of the 17th century, when the castle was dismantled by the owners themselves for re-use of the material.

During the summer-season the inner ward becomes an impressive place for medieval feasts and theatre plays.