Burg Neudenstein

Völkermarkt, Austria, Austria

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Burg Neudenstein, also called Schloss Neudenstein or the “Schwarze Schlößl” (Black Little Castle), is a late medieval castle and later baroque palace situated on a rocky cone above the north bank of the Völkermarkt artificial lake (Völkermarkter Stausee) on the Drava River, west of the town of Völkermarkt in Carinthia, Austria.

It was built in 1329 after King-Duke Heinrich granted permission to the Carinthian land marshal Konrad von Aufenstein to construct a new fortress, and its first recorded name in old documents is “Neydenstein”. Due to a rebellion involving the Aufensteiner family, the castle was confiscated in 1368 and passed through several noble families, including the Himmelberger, Graben, Plumegger, Windisch-Graetz, Kemeter, and Mandorff, and was substantially rebuilt.

And expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, when an arcaded courtyard and a baroque style were added, transforming the original medieval castle into a more comfortable residence. The complex currently stands on an irregular, multi-level plan with wings of different heights around an inner courtyard, and its dark masonry earned it the local name “Schwarze Burg” (Black Castle), which is also reflected in its Slovene name Črni Grad.