Burg Forchtenstein

Friday, August 13

On our way back from the Alps, we stopped off at another castle of the Esterhazys--Burg Forchtenstein.  The construction of this castle began in the 13th century and it came to the Esterhazy family in the 1620s.  We began out tour at the entrance to the inner courtyard.  The walls of the entrance were covered in fresco paintings of the emperors of the Roman Empire.  Along with the emperors, acanthus was painted on the walls, which is a motif from classical antiquity.  Hanging from the ceiling is a crocodile that originated in Egypt in 1704.  This crocodile faces the Ottoman Empire and is a protector against the Turks.  Stepping into the courtyard, the theme of emperor frescoes continues.  This time it was the Habsburg emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.  This succession of paintings demonstrates the Austrian Empires belief and efforts to legitimize themselves as the rightful heirs to the ancient Roman Empire.  In the center of the courtyard was a statue depicting the Turks as prisoners of war and the Catholics as the victors.  Also prominently displayed in the courtyard was a large crest with the letter L.  This L is for Emperor Leopold I who ennobled Paul I as a Prince of the Empire.  

This castle was a successful outpost of the Austrian Empire as it was never taken by the Turks.  Thus it has become museum to the military success of the Esterhazys and the Austrian Empire.  It holds a vast collection of military paraphernalia from both the Esterhazys, the Austrian Empire, and their enemies.  The Esterhazys have a strong record of military support for the Habsburgs in their border conflicts against the Ottoman Turks and in the War of Austrian Secession against the Prussians.  In this war, the Esterhazys remained a powerful and loyal ally.  

As we continued on our way back to Vienna, we stopped at another castle--Burg Lichtenstein.  This was one of the homes of the aristocratic Liechtenstein family.  The castle was first built in the 12th century.  It was later attacked and subsequently destroyed by the Turks in 1529 and again in 1683.  It has since been rebuilt and is currently undergoing renovations.  Due to this construction, we were not able to tour the inside and could only be in the inner courtyard for a few minutes before it was closed.  (I’m not sure if we were even supposed to be in their because the man who closed the gate did not look very happy with us.)  We spent a little more time walking around the perimeter of the wall before we returned to our bus and finished our journey home to Vienna.