Some of us has a habit of once a year go for a castle road trip and see some
great, mainly medieval, buildings and exhibitions. In the past five years southern France, Scotland, northern Italy, Switzerland (as seen
here) and Spain have all been paid a visit with this theme.
This time the trip went to
Austria (and a bit of Italy and Germany too). A lot of castles and many great collections and beautiful landscapes aswell. A great trip! Here are a few samples.
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| Hinterhaus Ruins, near Spitz an der Donau, Austria. Originally build in the 13th century. |
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| Vienna Imperial Armoury, Hofburg Palace. Great collection! |
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Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. Made in the late
10th or early 11th century. In Hofburg Palace in Vienna. |
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| Taufer's Castle in the Valle Aurina (Ahrntal) in northern Italy. |
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Festung Kufstein. Among other things besieged and conquered
by the future Emperor Maximilian I in 1504. |
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Ruins of Ehrenberg Castle (as seen from the Schloßkopf ruin).
The first castle of Ehrenberg was built in the 13th century. It was largely
destroyed when the French invaded Tyrol during the Napoleonic Wars |
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Timmelsjoch High Mountain Pass at 2,474 m (8,117 ft) on the Italian - Austrian border.
A strategic route that througout history have connected important valleys and cities. | | | |
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Hohenwerfen Castle near Salzburg. Originally built in the 11th century to secure
the Salzburg archbichopry against King (soon to be Holy Roman Emperor) Henry IV.
It was used as the castle 'Schloss Adler' in the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare! |
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| More of Hohenwerfen Castle. |
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| Styrian armoury in Graz. Lots and lots of armour! |
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Burg Liechtenstein south of Vienna, Austria.
Destroyed by the Ottomans it was rebuild in the late 19th century. |
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| Not very historical, if you don't count Conan. ;-) The Arnold Schwarznegger House Museum. |
I'm blown away by the scenery, what an amazing back drop to a historical visit.
ReplyDeleteEqually impressive is that Imperial Eagle used as part of the plating on the horse's armor!
Looks like a most enjoyable trip. Does the Hofburg also cover the later parts of the Habsburg Empire's history (say up to WW1)?
Thanks. The Hofburg Palace is big, so big infact that there were many things we didn't see or even look for. So there might be some later parts of the Habsburg's history in there somewhere but we don't know. Sorry. :-)
DeleteWow, some very impressive scenery there as Sören says. That horse armor is so over-the-top it could have been straight out of Warhammer. :)
ReplyDeleteStunning pictures !
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