Castle Tour

Today I went to a 13^th century castle with my family. We drove to the Burgenland (the same region of Austria where I went to the opera and near my host grandpa’s house) and into a small town called Eisenstadt. We took a guided tour of the castle which was over 700 years old. And although the entire thing was in German, I had an English handbook to help me along the way. This was another one of those moments where I was completely blown away by the history in Austria. To read about Napoleon, and the Ottoman Empire in a history book is one thing, but to stand within the same walls built from men centuries before me is a truly indescribable feeling. It is easy to let your imagination run wild and think about how people lived in this castle 700 years ago. The pictures do more justice than anything I could write so I’ll let them finish the story.

Coat of Arms and Tower

Me outside the entrance

Coat of Arms

Crocodile placed at the entrance to ward off the Ottomans

(It worked! This castle was never overthrown!)

Ceiling of the chapel

 

This little guy has Medival relics stored in his head and chest

Prince Nikolaus' family

Tent collected in the 7 Years War

One of Napoleon's own tents

Armor of celebrated soldiers stored in this room since 1602

Prince Nikolaus' formal wear

Wooden stairs are so worn that they are very slippery

Oven

Spiral Staircase

Coat of Arms in Stone

 

After the tour, we went into Eisenstadt to eat lunch. We had some time to kill before our table was ready though, so we toured the local church, and the composer Haydn's living quarters. I ended the day with a chocolate cake with mango sauce (it was sooooo good!) and slept the entire car ride home. All in all it was a fantastic day of Austrian history!

Church

Typical Burgenland Architecture

Theresa and I braving the rain!