Burgruine Finkenstein

Austria, Austria

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Burgruine Finkenstein, also called Altfinkenstein, is a ruined medieval castle in the market town of Finkenstein am Faaker See in Carinthia, Austria.

It sits on a steep cliff at the southern foot of the Karawanks mountains, about 788 meters above sea level, directly above Lake Faak, and offers sweeping views over the lake and the surrounding Alpine landscape. First mentioned in an 1142 deed, the castle originally belonged to the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg and was run by local noble officials who took the name “von Finkenstein”; after their line ended in the early 14th century, the Habsburg dukes of Carinthia owned it, and from 1508 it was held by the Dietrichstein family until the 19th century.

The oldest surviving parts are Romanesque walls and the remains of a 12th-century keep, later enlarged in Gothic style in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but the castle was no longer inhabited from the late 18th century and gradually decayed into its present ruinous state. Today the site is a popular tourist destination and an event venue: the Burgarena, an amphitheater with around 1,150 seats built within the ruins, hosts concerts, operas, and festivals in summer, and the attached restaurant Burgschenke offers food and drinks with a view over Lake Faak.