| Burgruine Landskron | |
|---|---|
| Carinthia, Austria | |
| Type | Mountain castle |
| Built | 14th century |
| Current condition |
Ruin |
Burgruine Landskron is a castle northeast of Villach in Carinthia, Austria.
The estate near Lake Ossiach was first mentioned in a 878 deed issued by the East Frankish king Carloman of Bavaria, who granted it to the monastery of Altötting he had established shortly before. About 1024 it was among the Carinthian possessions of one Count Ozi of the Chiemgau, probably a scion of the Otakar dynasty, who founded Ossiach Abbey nearby. In 1330 Landskron was acquired by the Counts of Ortenburg, the castle was mentioned in 1351.
In 1355 the Austrian House of Habsburg, dukes of Carinthia since 1335, purchased Landskron Castle. Temporarily pawned to the Counts of Celje and the Lords of Stubenberg, it was acquired by the Ortenburg castellan Christoph Khevenhüller in 1542. He made the castle his main residence and rebuilt it in a lavish Renaissance style. In 1552 he even received the visit of Emperor Charles V, who, on the run from the Protestant troops of Elector Maurice of Saxony, had fled to Carinthia. Nevertheless the Khevenhüllers, themselves Protestant, were stripped of Landskron by order of Emperor Ferdinand II in 1628.
The castle passed to the comital family of Dietrichstein in 1639. After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia the Khevenhüllers claimed it back and began a decades-long lawsuit, though without success. A blaze in 1812 finally devastated Landskron, which was not rebuilt and decayed. Not until 1953 the remains were preserved and a restaurant was opened within its walls. Today the castle is also known for its falconry centre conducting regular flying demonstrations.
This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.