Karlstein Castle (Ruin)

The castle ruin Karlstein is situated above Lake Thumsee on a steep rock and can only be reached via a long wooden staircase on the last section of a hiking trail. In front of the castle ruin today lies a pilgrimage church dedicated to St. Pancras. In place of this church, built in 1427 and later baroque-styled, the Pankrazfelsen likely held an outer bailey in the High Middle Ages.

Konrad von Peilstein had the fortification built shortly before 1150. The Peilstein family, based in Lower Austria, presumably followed a call from the Archbishop of Salzburg, who had appointed the Peilstein counts as his secular representative in court (Vogt). Towards the end of the 12th century, a castle captain named "Karl" lived here, after whom the entire complex was probably named. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1208.

In 1218, Karlstein came into the possession of the Duke of Bavaria, who henceforth entrusted its care to his vassals. From the late Middle Ages, Karlstein held lower jurisdiction over a larger neighborhood, the so-called Hofmark. For a lifetime, the Duke of Bavaria granted the castle and Hofmark Karlstein to patricians from Reichenhall or high-ranking officials, who sought a residence appropriate to their status, in exchange for corresponding payments. Under the powerful Fröschl von Marzoll und Tauerstein family, the castle was converted into a palace and remained in this form until its decay in the late 17th century.

The generously designed round-arched gate has been preserved from this later period. Next to it stood an elongated building with a recessed rectangular gate, the castle chapel dedicated to St. Andrew. Just as the chapel dates back to the construction period of the castle complex, the surrounding wall also dates from before 1150. In the west of the castle, the heavily dilapidated outer wall was demolished in 1671.

In the middle of the castle complex, the remains of an almost square cistern, where rainwater was collected, can still be found today. On the highest point of the inner courtyard stands a round tower, which – equipped with a high entrance – served as a keep. It dates to the first half of the 13th century, the time when Karlstein passed into the possession of the Duke of Bavaria.