Austria · Ruin
Burgruine Griffen
Burg Griffen is a medieval castle ruin sitting atop a 130 m limestone crag above the town of Griffen in Carinthia, Austria. Built in the early 12th century and substantially rebuilt around 1520, it now survives as stone curtain walls and tower remnants; the mountain also contains the Griffener dripstone cave.
First raised
1124
Its prime
1520
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1520
What Burgruine Griffen looked like in its prime.
The castle crowns a steep 130 m limestone crag, its footprint running along the ridge with successive pale-grey stone curtain walls and stepped terraces. At the summit are low rubble-built walls and the remains of several rectangular tower blocks with crenellated parapets; masonry is local limestone. The complex has an irregular silhouette of staggered walls and ruinous buildings with grassy terraces and scattered trees on the slope. At its prime the structures formed a continuous defensive line along the ridge.
Its story
The story of Burgruine Griffen.
Burg Griffen crowns a 130-metre limestone crag above the town of Griffen in Carinthia. Built in the early 12th century and substantially rebuilt around 1520, it survives today as a ruin of stone curtain walls and tower remnants; the mountain beneath it also holds the Griffener dripstone cave.
In 1292 the Carinthian nobleman Count Ulrich von Heunburg, supported by Archbishop Konrad IV of Salzburg, occupied the fort in an uprising against Albert of Habsburg, son of King Rudolph I of Germany. In 1759 Bishop Adam Friedrich sold Bamberg's Carinthian estates to Maria Theresa of Austria, and the castle was incorporated into the Carinthian duchy.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1520.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Burgruine Griffen — including 1 interior: griffener tropfsteinhöhle entrance. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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