Burgruine Kollmitz

Raabs an der Thaya, Austria, Austria

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Burgruine Kollmitz is one of the largest and most impressive medieval castle ruins in Lower Austria, located east of the town of Raabs an der Thaya on a steep, rocky spur that is surrounded in a wide loop by the Thaya River, giving it a dramatic “island” setting in the forested Waldviertel.

It was founded in the 13th century, most likely as a border fortress against Bohemia (Böhmen), and its main tower was completed in 1319; the site belongs to an older tradition of defensive castles on the Thaya, possibly linked to an earlier Hauenstein castle on the southern bank, and the narrowest part of the river loop still shows a medieval defensive wall known as the “Bohemian Wall”.

The castle declined in the 15th and 16th centuries, was abandoned, and gradually fell into ruin, but its extensive remains are still clearly visible today, with a powerful gate tower (Torturm), a Hungerturm (Hunger Tower), a large bergfried (fortified tower), and the fragmented walls of the residential and service buildings that together create a very open, spacious ruin complex.

Since 1932 the site belongs to the town of Raabs an der Thaya, and from 1974 the “Verein zur Erhaltung der Ruine Kollmitz” (Society for the Preservation of Kollmitz Ruin) has been responsible for its maintenance and safe access, later returning the property to the town, and today visitors can freely walk through the ruin, climb the Hungerturm and bergfried for panoramic views over the Thayar valley, and visit a small museum and café (Jausenstation) in the former forecourt where tickets and keys for the towers are obtained.