Greifenfels Castle

The castle ruin Greifenfels is located on a rocky outcrop on the northern slope of the Sattnitz mountains in the municipality of Ebenthal in Carinthia. It lies near the provincial capital Klagenfurt, approximately halfway between Gurnitz and Ebenthal in Carinthia.

The castle was built by Wulfing and Heinrich von Gurnitz around the year 1230/31. They received the right to build a fortress on the property belonging to Viktring Abbey from Pope Gregory IX. In 1315, the castle passed into the possession of the Auffensteiner family, and in 1404 (or 1408) it came under the rule of the Lords of Neuhaus. After they completed Ebenthal Castle below the castle in 1566, they abandoned Greifenfels in 1588 in favor of their new residence. The ruin has been owned by the Counts of Goëss since 1704.

Only very few remains of the ruin are still visible. Building remains can only be reconstructed at the northeast corner, where a drain stone suggests a kitchen. The curtain wall encloses an area approximately 35 meters long and 20 meters wide, which is dictated by the shape of the castle rock. It is therefore completely irregular and repeatedly kinked.