Riegersburg

Time for some more picture dumping.  On Saturday the 24th we went on an outing to a castle and a chocolate factory.  While at the castle, we enjoyed a falconry show.  The birds and the chocolate factor will be different posts, since I've got enough to talk about here for one post.

The castle we visited is called Riegersburg.  It's one of a line of fortifications along the old border with the Ottoman empire.

The students traveled with public transportation to the neighboring town then hiked to the base of the castle where there's a lift.  Having learned from my hill climbing misadventure that were I to attempt such a hike it would take all day, I elected to ride with one of the host families who was meeting the group when they arrived at the castle in time for the tour.

We parked the car and headed towards the lift.

We then realized we could have parked closer, but walking is good.

There are hiking trails all around the area.  A couple sides of the hill itself are rigged for mountain climbing.

I'm always amazed at how much work it must have took to get all that building material up a hill.

Thankfully, we have invented trains.

For a small fee we can take the lift up the hill and not have one giant asthma attack.

Photographing things while waiting for the car to come down.

There it is.  The signs on the inside claimed this thing had a maximum capacity of 25 people.  Right...

The way up.

View of the rock face from the lift.

We visited the castle last time I was here, but it was closed by the time we got there, so this is as far as I got last time.

They had a working smithy exhibit where kids could forge their own little leaf pendants.

Moat fish!

A drawing of the castle at the height of its fortification.

Our tour guide standing in front of the well that accessed the castle cistern.  The rain water from the roof collects into this 25m deep cistern.

There's a little horseshoe in the ironwork.

Next we learned a bit about the history of the castle's ownership.  It's currently owned by a member of the Liechtenstein family.

The crest of the part of the Liechtenstein family that owns the castle.

The next room discussed the roll of Riegersburg in defending against the Turks.

This is a model of the warning system.  If one castle spotted an invader, they lit the pyre and signal the other castles that they needed to get ready/send reinforcements.  The effectiveness of this system was limited due to the constraints of weather, materials, etc.

Various other castles in the region.

A toilet.  Toilets were built in little rooms on exterior walls.  Waste would fall below.

They had an exhibit showing what a typical meal was for a subject who worked for the lord.  Meat was pretty much a Sunday only thing.  In exchange for their labor, subjects expected protection in the castle in the event of attack.

This is supposed to represent a hail storm.  The castle has a small museum dedicated to witch trials.  Hail storms destroy crops in a very irregular fashion, which resulted in people taking their frustrations out on their neighbors by accusing them of witchcraft.  They'd be tortured until they confessed.

The baptismal font represents a priest who was accused and convicted of baptizing babies in the name of the devil.

This represents the legend of a woman accused of witchcraft because she was able to cause flowers to bloom in winter.  Actually, it's a fantasy invented in the 19th century when someone found a couple names in the records and a picture of a woman with a flower.

16th century bed, 20th century reproduction bed linens.

This is a ceramic stove.  These have little doors that open to the exterior hallways, providing heat without smoke.

A wax figure of 'die Gallerin", a woman who inherited the castle in her own right and was responsible for a large amount of the fortifications.

 A painting of the Gallerin.

Painted ceiling with a life cycle theme.

Paintings of two of the three husbands of the Gallerin, both of whom died.

The central image features the Fates.

The wall features excerpts from the writings of the Gallerin detailing how her third husband was an abusive asshole.  They ended up getting the marriage annulled.

Not sure why there's a statue of a guy barfing off the bridge.

A model of a possible dinner party.  There's an inscription on a window pane that documents a three week long drinking party.

Baroque room.

Gothic chapel, baroque altar.  Apparently the Counter-Reformation led to a lot of churches being remodeled in the baroque style.

Two tailed mermaid on the wall.

And I managed to get a picture of myself.

We discovered rabbits and pigs living in the dry moat.

Next we headed down the hill a bit to see a falconry show, but that's for another post.