Kreuzenstein Castle

Kreuzenstein Castle  (also known as Burg Kreuzenstein) is the beautiful castle of 19th century,  located north of the village of Leobendorf, east of the city of Stockerau in the province of Lower Austria in Austria.

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Schloss Kreuzenstein is first mentioned in the 12th century. The oldest part of the Kreuzenstein Castle dates back to the 1115. It is believed that the first name of the castle "Grizanstein» comes from Dietrich von Grizanstaine which was the owner of the castle in the 12th century. 

In later centuries, there were many different owners of the castle. In 1278, after the defeat of the Czech King  Přemysl Otakar II in the Battle on the Marchfeld, the castle became the property of the Habsburgs and its owner became Rudolph I of Habsburg.

In 1525, the owner of the castle became Nicholas, Count of Salm, the greatest achievement of which was the defense of Vienna during the first siege by the Turks in 1529.

In 1528, in the prison of Grizanstein castle was kept Balthasar Hubmaier, influential German/Moravian  Anabaptist leader. He was one of the most well-known and respected Anabaptist theologians of the Reformation. The castle was also twice in the Bohemian owned.

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Name:  Kreuzenstein Castle  Location: Leobendorf  Region:  Lower Austria   Country:  Austria   Type: Romanesque-Gothic style Material: Gothic bricks   Construction: 1874-1907 Condition:  opened to the public    Website:  www.kreuzenstein.com

In 1620 it was rented out to a Karl Graf Saint Hilaire. In April 1645, during the 30-Years War, the castle was occupied by a Swedish army led by Field-Marshal Thorstenson. They were driven out after a siege by Imperial troops that same year.  In the process of the siege, the castle was demolished leaving only a pile of uninhabitable rubble.

Over two hundred years later, Count Johann Nepomuk Wiczek, eminent polar explorer, archaeologist and naturalist, started the rebuilding and restoration of the castle. From his own notes, it is known that first he considered the Kreuzenstein as a burial place for his family. Initially, in 1874, he built the crypt and the chapel. Later these constructions were expanded to the present castle. In particular, one of the reasons of such expansion was the finding a place for the many treasures, collected by Count. Count Wiczek took pains to preserve the original character of the castle, although he also tried to blend different styles together in harmony, as  it was fashionably in the late 19th Century. As a result was the built a new castle that was created from the merger of the existing medieval architectural elements such as walls, towers and parts of the chapel.  Only few remains of the original citadel were incorporated into a new structure. The process of construction of the castle was led by the famous Austrian architect Carl Gangolf Kayser (until his death in 1895); later it was continued by Humbert Walcher von Molthein and Egon Rheinberger. In general, the construction lasted 30 years (1874-1904) and the works were officially continued with Kaiser Wilhelm II on June 6, 1906.

In 1915, from lightning a fire started  in the castle, a fire destroyed part of the archival and library buildings.

In 1945, during fighting between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht castle was severely damaged, and from the castle, some belongings disappeared. Nowadays, most of the manuscripts from the collection of Wilczek set in the Austrian National Library.

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Currently, the castle is one of the most popular tourist destinations surrounding areas. Quite interesting events are held here in June. Also deserve attention the hotel, equipped in the castle, as well as the exhibition of birds of prey. Kreuzenstein located on top of a small hill, the view from the castle of the surrounding land was called simply delicious. In general, almost all tourists visiting Vienna, consider as their duty to visit and Kreuzenstein.

In the preparation of this article, were mainly used materials of websites: www.wikipedia.org, www.castles.nl,  www.kreuzenstein.com, www.anaustriaattraction.com, www.worlds.ru and www.ermaktravel.com.