Grad Pukštajn (Puchenstein Castle)

Grad Pukštajn (German Burg Puchenstein or Buchenstein; also Grad Bukovje) is a medieval castle ruin on the steep edge of the Bukovje hill above the right bank of the Drava, in the settlement of Bukovje near Dravograd in northeast Slovenia (Carinthia Statistical Region, historically Lower Styria). It dominated the transition from the Drava Valley to the Mislinja Valley on the edge of the Windischgraz dominion.

Around 1200, the Counts of Andechs-Meran built the fortress. In 1251, it fell to the Patriarch of Aquileia, who leased or pledged it (Heinrich von Pfannberg before 1278; later Heunburg, Hohenlohe, Gall, Aufenstein). After the fall of the Aufenstein in 1368, it became a princely fief; in 1382, Duke Leopold granted it to Niklas Gall, who bore the surname von Puchenstein. The Galls held it for over 130 years, followed by the Gaisruck (from 1542). In 1595, the castle burned down during a property dispute. From 1681–1745, the Khössler family owned the dominion. After another fire in 1706, the castle was not rebuilt.

The Romanesque core was an approximately rectangular palas with a curtain wall and inner courtyard. In the early 15th century, a residential tower was added, later a gatehouse, guardhouse, and zwinger.