Griffen Castle Ruins, Griffen, Austria

Griffen castle was built between 1124 and 1146 by order of Bishop Otto of Bamberg. In an 1160 deed, Emperor Friedrich I mentioned Grivena as a Bamberg property.

In 1292 the Carinthian nobleman Count Ulrich von Heunburg with support of Archbishop Konrad IV of Salzburg occupied the fort in an uprising against Albert of Habsburg, the son of King Rudolph I of Germany and Duke Meinhard II. However Ulrich was abandoned by his allies and one year later had to leave the castle. In 1759 Bishop Adam Friedrich sold the Bamberg estates in Carinthia to Maria Theresa of Austria and the castle was incorporated into the Carinthian duchy.

About 1520 a large reconstruction of the castle took place as a protection against the threat posed by the Ottoman forces with a base amounted of about 4000 m², though the Turks never laid siege to Griffen. In 1659 a flash impact destroyed one of the towers and the decay of the castle began. In 1768 a last religious service took place and about 1840 the roofs were torn. In 2000 the preservation of the castle began. A steep footpath leads up the mountain to the ruins.

Within the mountain is the Griffener Tropfsteinhöhle (dripstone cave) with a length of 485m, which was not discovered until the late days of World War II. It is open to public and a natural landmark since 1957.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Matej (7 months ago)
Beautiful place, on top nice restaurant with great view.

Mateja Ž (2 years ago)
The mighty ruins of the castle, which impress with their appearance on a high rock from afar. Several paths lead to the ruins. None is payable, nor is there an entrance fee at the top. One path is partly on the stairs starts behind the church near the stalactite caves, second from parking lot no.1, wher you walk part of the way through the forest, or one from parking lot no.2, from where you go past the sign for via ferrata, ( also one way to go ) directly along the old wall up to the castle ruins. The path is quite steep. Further towards the top there are benches for relaxing and enjoying the beautiful view. Just in front of the top is the ruin of the castle chapel, where you can find an altar and a cross inside. At the top are (probably were ) two bars on the castle itself, both closed. From all the platforms of the former towers you can see a beautiful landscape. Near is a board where all the visible mountain peaks in the distance are marked. From afar, you will notice a glassy composition embedded in the ruins. It is home to a private society. I miss more historical details about the castle than just a meager description at the foot and two photographs. I must say that a visit to the ruins, of the once mighty castle is a special experience and is definitely worth a visit.

Carl Perazzola (4 years ago)
We were Driving from Vienna to Lake Bled and saw this place on the drive. We glad we stopped for 2 hours to explore. Took some great Photos and were glad we stopped here.

Nikola Teperova (4 years ago)
Beautiful place.

Belinda Viesca (4 years ago)
It was a very nice hike! Unfortunately, it was too late to go in the ruins of the castle so we will just have to comeback! But, we did have a coffee and a white chocolate coconut cake at Cafe on the top of the hill. The view was beautiful and what we ate was DELICIOUS!!!

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