Location: Carinthia Map
Constructed: 1230
The Greifenfels castle ruins are located on a rocky knoll on the northern slope of the Sattnitzerberge in the municipality of Ebenthal in Carinthia. It is near the provincial capital of Klagenfurt, about halfway between Gurnitz and Ebenthal in Carinthia.
The castle was built by Wulfing and Heinrich von Gurnitz (see Gurnitz castle ruins) around the year 1230/31. They received the right to build a fortress on the property belonging to the Viktring Monastery from Pope Gregory IX. In 1315 the castle became the property of the Auffenstein family, and in 1404 (or 1408) it came under the rule of the Lords of Neuhaus. After they had completed Ebenthal Palace below the castle in 1566, they gave up Greifenfels in 1588 in favor of their new residence. The ruins have been owned by the Counts of Goëss since 1704.
Only very small remains of the ruins can be seen. Remains of the building can only be reconstructed at the north-east corner, where a spout stone suggests a kitchen. The ring wall covers an area about 35 meters long and 20 meters wide, which is determined by the shape of the castle rock. It is therefore completely irregular and kinked several times. As far as can be seen from the few surviving spots, the corner joints of the walls consisted of carefully hewn blocks of tuff and limestone.