Exploring Castle Hochosterwitz in Austria

Castle Hochosterwitz, Austria

Nestled in the picturesque region of Carinthia, Austria, Castle Hochosterwitz stands as a symbol of medieval grandeur on a 172-metre high Dolomite rock. Dating back to the 9th century, Castle Hochosterwitz has witnessed centuries of change, serving as a bastion of defense and a residence for nobility. Today, Hochosterwitz (or Grad Ostrovica in Slovene ) is a major tourist attraction which is located only half an hour drive from the city of Klagenfurt.

Castle Hochosterwitz and its upright railway

About castle Hochosterwitz

Castle Hochosterwitz is still owned by the noble family of Khevenhüller as requested by their ancestor and the main castle builder George Khevenhüller. He purchased the castle in 16th century from the Carinthian governor Christof Khevenhüller who received it from the German king Ferdinand I of Habsburg. Before that, the castle was in the hands of Salzburg archbishop and Osterwitz noble family. Khevenhüller family rebuild the castle and added 14 fortified gates to deal with the Turkish invasion. As a result, the castle was never conquered.

There is a church on the castle grounds as well as a souvenir shop, restaurant, public toilets and a small museum with a collection of weapons, armors, paintings and other historical artifacts. There was also a temporary exhibition dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci at the time of our visit. The admission to the castle costs 18 EUR. The short but thrilling ride to the castle by inclined railway costs 10 EUR. For more practical information about the castle check out its official website.

the main building of the castle

Our visit to Castle Hochosterwitz

My husband and I visited castle Hochosterwitz last Thursday morning. On our drive to Hochosterwitz from Klagenfurt, we discussed whether to go up the castle by inclined railway or to walk 620-metre long pathway through the 14 gates up to the castle. Once we parked the car at the free parking lot below the castle we decided that it would be a better experience if we just walked up to the castle. And we weren’t wrong. It took us around half an hour to reach the main castle building on the top of the rock but it was a very enjoyable walk.

The first gate is Fähnrichtor (from 1580). In my opinion it is the most beautiful gate because it is adorned by a fresco of mercenaries. Some gates and its towers have two floors, some have a drawbridge and some still have the original defense mechanisms. I noticed that all gates/towers also have a relief for each Stations of the Cross. I presume that these were a later addition. We climbed up the second floor in some of the gate buildings but most of those second floors were empty and locked up. Though, a few had a couple of interesting artifacts inside. All 14 gates are similar and yet different. While you are walking up the pathway you come across several breathtaking vantage points. The landscape of Carinthia with its lush woods and hills is magnificent.

at one of 14 gates leading up to the castle

castle’s church and garden

Before we reached the top and the main castle building we saw a small garden and the top of the church tower. I love walled gardens with roses and this garden was a delightful fragrant surprise. We wanted to go to the church as well but we just couldn’t see the way to it at that moment so we continued on the pathway leading up to the high steps into the castle’s courtyard. There we came across a restaurant in the shades of the trees.

Since it was around 10.45 AM there weren’t that many visitors yet. After a quick snoop around the souvenir shop and the jewelry shop we entered the castle rooms. You are greeted by the two portraits of the present castle owners in the first castle room. Then, you can see some life-like mannequins dressed in period pieces, paintings and historical artifacts. The most interesting room is armory with a large collections of weapons such as swords, hunting weapons, halberds and even canons. There are plenty of armors too including a huge armor on a mannequin over 2 metres tall that represents Burghauptmann Schenk. I can imagine how his peers must have thought that he was a real giant.

There’s an interesting legend connected to castle Hochosterwitz. During a siege of the castle in the 14th century, the garrison slaughtered its last ox, filled it with grain, and threw it over the wall to deceive the attacking forces into believing that the castle still had an abundance of provisions.

upright railway
castle’s courtyard

We continued our exploration of the castle after we perused all the exhibits in the castle rooms/museum. Somehow we found our way to another smaller courtyard where we discovered a small forgery. We peered through its iron gates to see different tools inside. Next, we walked towards the inclined railway. The railway looks very steep and it must offer great views on its 95 seconds long ride. We made a circular walk around the castle’s towers and got back to the steps leading to the castle’s main courtyard. Then, we noticed another path leading downwards. This path wasn’t well maintained as the one leading up to the castle but we managed to reach the church which we saw earlier. The church was closed but we heard an unconventional music coming from inside the church. Again, we peered through the gate and saw a young woman restoring golden letters below a statue while listening to some dance music on her portable radio.

castle’s church

Satisfied with our almost two hour exploration of the castle we descended down to the car park. It was much easier to go up the castle than to go down the same pathway. I found it a bit slippery so my advice is to wear sneakers and not sandals like me when you visit this castle. We were hungry after our tour of the castle so we decided to have a lunch at the restaurant right next to the car park. We opted for a daily menu which consisted of a soup and a main course. The prices on the menu were a bit less expensive than at the restaurant at the castle’s courtyard. We both had the same onion soup. I had a very delicious home made potato salad with Cordon bleu while my husband had some local mushroom stew. Unfortunately, we were quite full since the portions were large so we couldn’t have local apple strudel.

In conclusion, we were both very pleased with our visit to Hochosterwitz castle. If you are visiting Klagenfurt or Minimundus or just driving through this area of Austria, do visit Hochosterwitz castle. You won’t be disappointed.

We visited Hochosterwitz in July 2024.

40 thoughts on “Exploring Castle Hochosterwitz in Austria”

  11. The legend of the ox reminds me of a similar legend I learned about in Bretten, Germany.

    The story is that Bretten was under siege for some reason, and food supplies in the city were running low. To fool the besieging army, the people of Bretten used their remaining food supplies to fatten up a little dog and turn it loose to give the impression that they still had enough food to hold out indefinitely.

    The besieging forces, duly fooled, decided they had no chance of starving the city out, so they ended the siege and withdrew, but first they chopped off the little dog’s tail and sent him back into the city.

    Local historians agree that this never happened. There were several sieges in Bretten’s early history, but they all ended for other reasons that had nothing to do with dogs. (There is still a statue of this little dog in Bretten, however.)

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  12. How fascinating that the castle was built to keep the Ottoman Turks at bay! I’ve seen that at other castles in the region, too. Seems like it was a real threat at that time. And that’s nice you chose to walk! I think that’s the best way to explore places.

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  14. Castle Hochosterwitz looks like a dream! Even more fascinating is its long and rich history, passed down from generation to generation…there’s a lot of Austria I’ve yet to see, and Castle Hochosterwitz is one of them! Thanks for taking us on the journey with you, Tanja!

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  17. Wow, the view from up there is simply amazing! This is such a beautiful castle! I love how it is perched high on the limestone dolomite rock where it stands guard over the valley below. Thanks for sharing, and have a wonderful day 🙂 I hope your summer is going well 🙂 Aiva xx

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