With such an advantageous location, there has been a fortification on the site since ancient times. After the original was torn down in 1294, the Count of Mattersdorf built the first part of the current castle with a 150-feet-high keep in the early 14th century. After the title failed due to lack of a male heir, ownership passed to the Habsburgs in 1450 and in 1622 as a gift to Nikolaus Esterhazy (1583-1645) from Emperor Ferdinand II. Nikolaus fortified the castle and imported builders and construction workers from Italy. To pay for it all, Nikolaus, who was a member of a relatively poor, minor aristocratic family, married a rich childless widow which made his fortune. He wasn't merely a dilettante, however; he was an excellent diplomat and personally led troops in 15 battles against the Turks. He was named Palatine (representative of the Hungarian King) and a Knight of the Golden Fleece.
His third son, Paul, who loved theatrics and originally wanted to become a priest, inherited the title after his older brothers died. Paul (1635-1713) was the one who finished the renovation and furnished the burg with much of its treasure. He married two rich women in succession and had 26 children, of which only a few survived to adulthood. After his death in 1713, no noble family ever lived in the castle again. They preferred to live in the more luxurious Schloss Esterhazy in Eisenstadt 13 miles away.
Forchtenstein became what it is most famous for today - the largest armory and weapons collection in Central Europe, army headquarters and military post, and a repository for machines, exotic animal preparations and the secret Esterhazy treasure vault. When Austria and Hungary were separated after World War I, the Esterhazy's family's lands were split between the two countries. The financial records remained at Burg Forchtenstein, and the family records were taken to the Hungarian Federal Archive in Budapest. The secret of the treasure vault was kept until after World War II when the vault was discovered. The contents of the vault are now on display in the burg.
This is such a large place, and we have a lot of pictures. We took a guided tour of part of the castle; the guide spoke German, but we had an English brochure. Then we walked through the rest of the open rooms on our own with an English brochure. Bob was disappointed that the tower isn't open to the public, but I was relieved. I had enough trouble just driving up there and looking out from the parapet. Going up another 150 feet didn't appeal to me, but if it had been open I would have felt obligated. One of the things I'm doing is trying everything while we're in Europe. People who know me know how hard that is! And I've vowed to eat everything in the food category which is a total other story. At any rate, I'm dividing Forchtenstein into three blogs.
View of the castle from village of Forchtenstein.
Getting closer.
Yeah, you're right. Bob didn't take this one. It's from
a postcard, but I love the sunset colors on the burg.
At the castle. I don't know what those brightly-colored
structures are, but they look like deer stands.
We haven't been to any historical site in Austria that
doesn't have ongoing restoration. Look how steeply the
grounds slope down at the moat. If enemy soldiers were
able to get this far, they would have an incredibly steep
hill to climb at the end. And the defenders would be
shooting arrows at you, heaving things, firing muskets,
throwing hot oil, any number of unpleasant measures. And
many moats had stagnant water in them and disgusting things
like sewage, offal and refuse.
I'm at the beginning of the bridge leading to the main gate.
The main gate. There used to be a drawbridge.
One of the many paths inside the castle grounds.
Neptune's fountain in the main courtyard.
Gate to an arched passageway.
Cannon inside the arched passageway.
Note the spears on the left wall.
Path to the parapet.
The whole wall facing the direction the Turks would come
from is dotted with these small portholes. Some are close
to the ground, others are higher with small stone ledges
beneath them - all designed to allow a kneeling archer
to have a good vantage point. The castle is fortified all
around of course, but it looks like more is concentrated
on the eastern side. Notice it's wet. It was hot when we
got there and again when we left, but while we were there it
stormed and the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees so
we got wet and chilled, then hot again.
View of the Hungarian plains. Imagine you're a Turkish
soldier slogging your way across those plains. You look
up and see that castle, and you have to think to yourself,
"@#%$! We have to climb up there?" You can see why the
castle never fell.
View of the village.
The stairs leading down from the parapet.
Entrance to an inner courtyard.
The arched gateway to the courtyard is covered
with beautiful frescoes. Here is the ceiling. The
crocodile was brought from Egypt in the 1700s and faces
the Turks. It is thought to protect the castle from
evil, and history had showed them their main threat
came from the Turks.
On the wall inside the arched gateway, there are frescoes
of Roman emperors. Look carefully at this one, from right
to left are Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula.
This is the inner courtyard.
This equestrian statue is inscribed from 1687.
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