Castles of "Austria" RIEGERSBURG CASTLE vs SCHACHENSTEIN CASTLE

Riegersburg Castle is a medieval castle situated on a dormant volcano above the town of Riegersburg in the Austrian state of Styria. The castle is owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein and contains a museum with changing exhibitions. Riegersburg Castle is situated at a height of 450 m.(1476.38 feet) People have been living in the area around Riegersburg for a few thousand years. A large village was founded in the 9th century B.C. with 300 people living here. Later, from 15 B.C. until 476 A.D. the region was part of the Roman Empire. In the 3rd and 9th century Bavarians immigrated and Hungarians invaded from the East. It was the beginning of a long time of armed conflicts. The history of the castle begins in the year 1122. The first knight who is known to have lived there is Rudiger von Hohenberg. Over the centuries the castle had many different owners, but only few played an important role. Among the later owners is the family of the Walseer who had feud with the sovereign of Styria in 1415. The most important owner was the baroness Katharina Elisabeth von Wechsler, who married Galler and who was known as Gallerin. Between 1637 and 1653 she finished the castle, making it one of the biggest and strongest castles in the country. It is surrounded by 3 kilometres (2 mi) of walls with 5 gates and 2 trenches and it contains 108 rooms. In the 17th century the border with the Ottoman Empire was sometimes only 20 to 25 km away from the castle and the area was troubled by conflicts with the Turks and Hungarians. The castle was a safe place for the people nearby, sometimes offering refuge inside its walls for a few thousand. Lady Gallerin married three times and had one daughter who married a Count Purgstall. The castle passed to the Purgstall family, who died out around 1800. In 1822, the castle was bought by Sovereign Johann Josef von Liechtenstein. It has belonged to the von Liechtenstein family until the present day. The castle was taken by the 10th Guards Rifle Division of Soviet forces advancing towards Graz on 8 May 1945.

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The ruins of Schachenstein Castle (German: Burg Schachenstein) are located in the municipality of Thörl, above the village not far from the Thörlbach stream and north of Bruck an der Mur in the Styria, Austria. Schachenstein Castle was the last hill castle to be built in the Styria. Its primary role was as a fortified, lordly residence, thus no subjects were in service to the castle captains. The castle was never besieged, despite serious unrest such as the Baumkircher feud and Turkish raids. The site of castle was an outstanding choice: some 640 above sea level on rocks forming the southern spur of the Schöckelberg. It is situated on an easily defended constriction of the road from Einodgräben to Mariazell, which was originally also guarded by a fortified gateway. The main purpose of the fortification was as a home and summer residence of the abbots of St. Lambrecht's Abbey as evinced by a large number of historic records. Subsequently, it was used to seal off the Mariazell road and protect the population of the Aflenz valley – who were looked after by the abbey – as well as providing a refuge during Turkish and Hungarian invasions. The castle was built in 1464 by Abbot John II Schachner of Lambrecht as a summer residence and lordly manor. It was extended in 1630 and 1740. From the end of the 18th century the castle lost its significance and fell into ruins.

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