Castles of "Austria" BURG VICHTENSTEIN vs PRANDEGG CASTLE

Burg Vichtenstein is a castle in Upper Austria, Austria. Burg Vichtenstein is 531 metres (1,742 ft) above sea level. The Vichtenstein castle sits in the "sow forest" (upper Austria) above the Danube valley opposite to the market municipality of Upper Cell (Lower Bavaria). The castle is in the centre of the municipality Vichtenstein. There is no documentary for the construction of the castle but it is believed to have been started around the year 1100. The castle was an administrative centre of the Bishopric of Passau and in the 14th century it was mortgaged several times until it became the property of the counts of Schauberg.

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Prandegg Castle is a ruined hill castle in Austria, near the village of Schönau im Mühlkreis in the Freistadt District (which lies in the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria). Prandegg is an elongated castle on a hilltop adjacent to a collection of rocky cliffs. It lies at 705 metres (2,313 ft) above the Adriatic (the primary sea level determinate of Austria), between two valleys formed by the river Waldaist and the smaller stream Prandegg. Gutau is 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) as the crow flies, with Schönau im Mühlkreis lying 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) away. The nearest village is Pehersdorf, along Hiking Trail No. 82 (Wanderweg Nr. 82). Following the rocky outcropping upon which it is set, the castle is long and narrow. The total area of the grounds is 2,435 square metres (0.60 acres), of which the main castle occupies 1,490 square metres (0.37 acres). A previous structure, the late Romanesque old castle (Altburg), which was built at the end of the 12th century, was at the highest point of the northern ridge, and though it no longer exists, it once covered 340 square metres (3,700 sq ft). Nearby to the south, a castle chapel once stood, as well as a barrel-vaulted passage connecting it to the interior courtyard. A castle gate, a small gatehouse, and a palas were erected nearby as well, opposite a series of farm buildings. The residential buildings have been preserved up to a height of several stories, at least along the outer walls. In some cases, plaster layers, bay windows, window frames, window alcoves and pointed arch portals are still visible. The main castle is separated by a high wall from the bergfried, a powerful defensive tower typical of castles in German-speaking area. The bergfried of the Prandegg Castle is a 26-metre (85 ft) high, round tower built on a natural outcropping of rocks and with an elevated entrance. It is accessible today by a wooden bridge or simple wooden set of stairs and serves as a lookout point for the surrounding area. South of the bergfried lies the low-lying outer ward, which was separated from the inner ward by a 9-metre (30 ft) wide, man-made moat, over which a drawbridge allowed access to the heart of the castle. At the foot of the castle, the Maier courtyard once stood. Originally a four-sided space, some of the area has since been enclosed, and a restaurant now operates within this area.

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