Ehrenberg Castle

Reutte, Austria

Built in 1296, Ehrenberg Castle offers everything you would expect from a medieval castle, defensive walls, tall towers and a lot of history. The gothic castle complex was home to emperors and kings, princes and tzars.

Ehrenberg was in the center of wartime battles several times. In 1546, the Protestant Schmalkalden occupied the fortress. In 1552, it was taken by the Elector Moritz of Saxony. In 1632 the Swedes stopped in front of its walls. In 1703, Ehrenberg fell into the hands of the Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession. From 1716 to 1717, Ehrenberg became the exile of Russian Tsarevich Alexei, who fled from his father, Tsar Peter the Great. Even in the Napoleonic Wars, it played a role. Beginning in 1971, Fridolin Schennach from Reutte took over the condemned ruin and initiated a rescue operation with numerous other idealists.

Highline 179

In 2014, the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge was completed between the Ehrenberg Castle ruins and Fort Claudia, spanning the strategically important pass that these two structures were in part meant to guard. The length of the bridge 403 meters, with a height of 110 meters.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Reutte, Austria
See all sites in Reutte

Details

Founded: 1296
Category: Castles and fortifications in Austria

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Carol Nye (17 months ago)
History, action, stunning views and playtime all in this one wonderful site. We took the tram to Ehrenberg castle ruins. Kids loved exploring it and the view was spectacular. Nice playground there too. Then suspension bridge, and another tram to top to area with some ruins and amazing views. ? A great day for our family.
Jason and Melanie Walsh (17 months ago)
Very interesting to visit such an old castle ruin. Beautiful views and nice to travel up by the cable car/lift and walk back down
Andrew C (17 months ago)
As a part of visiting the bridge, worth popping in for a look. When we were there (July 2023), the ruins were a mess, with construction garbage everywhere with little evidence of active restoration work.
Kevin Watts (17 months ago)
Awesome place to visit if you're into midevil places. It was started in 1296 and was added on over 300 years. The hike up was steep but short. If you're in shape, you can do it in 30 minutes. We hiked with 3 kids, youngest being 10, and made it in 45 minutes. They have a mountain lift you can ride up and down if you don't want to hike. There are 3 castles at the top of the mountains. 2 on one mountain and one on another that you can take the sky bridge to. The sky bridge is the longest in the world and was inducted into the genius world book of record in 2014. If heights are not your thing, you can walk down and back up the other mountain. Plan at minimum 2 hours to be there but 3 to 4 is more enjoyable. A lot of history in one place. Check prices on the website to see how you would like to go about it. They have a gift shop as well.
Judene H Huffman (23 months ago)
This is an amazing thing to see and do! Love the linear elevator ? we came in January so it was quite cold but the view was spectacular! I think the snow made it more beautiful. It was €5 to park, €7 each way (up and down) to ride the linear elevator and I think it was €8 to go on the suspension bridge. We didn't go on the suspension bridge. You can skip the linear elevator ride and walk up to the castle for free if you choose. We enjoyed every second of our time here.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.