Burgruine Reifnitz

Austria, Austria

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Burgruine Reifnitz is the ruined medieval castle situated on a rocky hill above the southern shores of Austria’s Wörthersee in Carinthia, spanning the areas of St. Margarethen in the municipality of Keutschach am See and Reifnitz in the municipality of Maria Wörth.

The first fortified structure on the site probably originated in the 8th or 9th century during the early Christianization and settlement of the region, and by the high Middle Ages it had become one of the most powerful castles around the Wörthersee, controlling the entire southern lakeshore and the Keutschach lake valley.

The castle was first mentioned in written sources in 1145, and over the centuries it passed through the hands of several noble families, including the Counts of Bogen, the lords of Trixen, the Counts of Gorizia-Tyrol, the Liebenberg, and finally the Keutschacher, who are documented as castle governors in the late 15th century.