Austria · Ruin
Dürnstein castle ruins
Burgruine Dürnstein
Dürnstein Castle is the ruined medieval rock castle above the town of Dürnstein in the Wachau on the Danube in Lower Austria. Built in the early 12th century, the fortress sits on a steep limestone crag and is reached from the town by a defensive wall and terraces on the hillside. It has been a ruin since the late 17th century and is part of the Wachau UNESCO Cultural Landscape.
First raised
1130
Its prime
1192
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1192
What Dürnstein castle ruins looked like in its prime.
Perched on a jagged limestone crag above the Danube, the castle forms an irregular cluster of pale quarried-stone walls and tower remnants linked by short stretches of curtain wall. The main stronghold occupies the highest rock platform with lower baileys stepping down the slope; steep terraced retaining walls and vineyards run beneath the lower defensive wall. At its prime the roofs and timber floors would top the stone rectangular keep and ancillary buildings, enclosing a compact courtyard.
Its story
The story of Dürnstein castle ruins.
Hadmar of Kuenring's Rock Above the Danube
The castle was raised in the early 12th century at the behest of Hadmar I of Kuenring (died 1138), a ministerialis in the service of Margrave Leopold III of Austria, on estates his ancestor Azzo of Gobatsburg had acquired from Tegernsee Abbey in the late 11th century. Hadmar, who also founded nearby Zwettl Abbey, set his fortress on a rock 312 metres above sea level in the Wachau, commanding the Danube and joined to the little town of Dürnstein below by a defensive wall running out from the town walls.
The Prison of Richard the Lionheart, 1192–1193
Dürnstein owes its fame to a royal prisoner. King Richard I of England, returning from the Third Crusade, was captured near Vienna by Duke Leopold V of Austria and held at the castle from December 1192 until his extradition to Emperor Henry VI in March 1193.
Hussites, Swedes and the Road to Ruin
Hussite forces plundered the town and castle of Dürnstein in 1428 and again in 1432. In 1645, near the end of the Thirty Years' War, a Swedish contingent under Lennart Torstensson took the castle, and on withdrawing the troops destroyed parts of the gate system. By 1662 the castle was no longer permanently inhabited, though it was still listed as a possible shelter during the Austro-Turkish War of 1663–1664.
In 1663 Conrad Balthasar of Starhemberg purchased the castle, and it remains with his heirs to this day. From 1679 it was no longer habitable and was abandoned; the ruin now stands within the Wachau Cultural Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1192.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Dürnstein castle ruins, including 1 interior: prison chamber within the keep. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Dürnstein castle ruins with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Dürnstein castle ruins.
The families that held Dürnstein castle ruins for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Starhemberg
Purchased by Conrad Balthasar of Starhemberg in 1663; still owned by his heirs.
Nearby
