Burg Kreuzenstein

About this place

Burg Kreuzenstein is a castle near Leobendorf in Lower Austria, just north of Vienna and the Danube, about 20 km northwest of central Vienna in a straight line. It stands at 265 metres, about 100 metres above the Danube. It was built on the remains of a medieval castle that had fallen into ruin and was demolished in the 17th century. Count Nepomuk Wilczek rebuilt it in the 19th century as a family vault, with money from the family's coal mines. What makes it unusual is that it was assembled from sections of medieval buildings the family bought from across Europe, so it is at once a neo-medieval and a genuinely medieval structure. It has sometimes been used as a film location. The castle rises above a wooded hill with round and square towers under pointed red roofs, and its inner courtyard holds arcades, wooden galleries and a roofed well. From its height the view sweeps over the course of the Danube and the Korneuburg basin. Visitors walk around the walls and courtyard and see the halls on guided tours. It is easy to reach from Vienna, and the climb from the car park is short but steep.