CastleMoosburg

Arnulfsfeste Castle

Arnulfsfeste Castle

The remains of the Castle can be visited



The ruin Arnulfsfeste (also Hetzelburg) is located in the municipality of Moosburg in Carinthia. Access to the area is prohibited by the property owner.

Bronze Age finds confirm that it is an ancient settlement area.

The first documented mention dates back to the year 879.

In the period after 1100 until the second half of the 15th century, the Palatine Counts of Görz are listed as owners; they were followed by the Habsburgs, from 1501 to 1630 the Ernauer family, from 1633 the Barons of Kronegg, and in 1733 the Counts of Goëss.

After the construction of the new castle at the beginning of the 16th century, Hetzelburg increasingly fell into disrepair.

Castle complex on three hills+

Northwest of Moosburg's Mitterteich, three hills rise with the castle ruin of Arnulfsfeste, popularly known as "Mosaburch".

To the north is the Rauthügel, to the southwest the Thurnerhügel, and to the southeast the Arnulfhügel. It is a widely spread, partly heavily dilapidated complex, consisting of three distinct building complexes: on the Rauthügel the Carolingian "heribergium" as the oldest defensive structure, on the Thurnerhügel the actual main castle from the 12th-14th century, and on the Arnulfhügel the "Arnulfturm" surrounded by a curtain wall, the burgrave's seat from the 13th century. It is a tower with two-meter thick walls and a square footprint of 12 meters side length. On the west side, the tower has been preserved up to a height of 17 meters. The main building consisted of the fortified house with two rooms and a south-facing courtyard, which was surrounded by the curtain wall. A two-meter high masonry of layered rubble stones from the 12th century represents the lowest part of the house and curtain wall from the 13th century. Probably only in the late Middle Ages was the complex combined into a large defensive structure.

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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://www.wehrbauten.at/ktn/kaernten.html

This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.

Location: 46.6604, 14.1582