Liebenfels Castle

The castle ruin Liebenfels is a twin castle on a rocky outcrop northeast of the municipality of Liebenfels in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan, the historical central region of Carinthia (Austria). The preserved building components date from the Romanesque period to the Renaissance.

Liebenfels was first mentioned in a document in 1312 as Liewenvelse. Between 1484 and 1490, the castle was conquered, occupied, and partially destroyed by the Hungarians. Remains of bulwarks below the medieval complex date from this period of occupation. Valvasor already described the castle as "almost desolate" around 1690.

Remarkable are the two massive keeps from the 13th/14th century, which are separated by the unusually extensive outer bailey. The larger of the two towers comprises six stories and formed the core of the very small and heavily fortified main castle. This keep features striking window groups on the top floor, which were interpreted by F. X. Kohla as signal windows. Even today, the meaning of these windows remains unclear. In the southwest corner of the extensive outer bailey, near the gate, is the second, four-story keep.

The main castle, grouped around the larger keep, also includes the former palas, which was surprisingly narrow and thus offered little living space. In the northwest corner there is a striking five-part window group, which indicates a blockwork room.

The complex is surrounded by a beautiful Gothic curtain wall with preserved battlements. The castle chapel and the newer and more spacious residential building, which adjoins the main castle to the west, date from the Renaissance.