Falkenstein Castle (Niederfalkenstein)

Niederfalkenstein Castle Burg Niederfalkenstein
Obervellach, Carinthia, Austria
Niederfalkenstein Castle and Falkenstein Bridge
Type	Spur castle
Site information
Owner	Private
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Preserved
Site history
Built	12th century
Built by	Lords of Falkenstein

Niederfalkenstein Castle is a medieval castle near Obervellach in Carinthia, Austria. It is part of the larger Falkenstein fortification complex; while the main fortress of Oberfalkenstein today is a ruin, the lower barbican of Niederfalkenstein is largely preserved.

The fortification was erected on a rocky promontory on the southwestern slopes of the Reisseck Group in the Hohe Tauern mountain range, overlooking the Möll valley east of Obervellach. Niederfalkenstein is 843 metres (2,766 ft) above sea level.

The Tauern Railway line, opened in 1909, initially passed under the rock in a 67-metre (220 ft) long tunnel. In the course of the double-tracked expansion carried out from 1971 to 1973, the rail tunnel was replaced by a wide arch bridge, the present-day Falkenstein Bridge passing between Ober- and Niederfalkenstein, with 396 metres (1,299 ft) the longest of the line and one of the longest in Austria.

The ruins of Oberfalkenstein comprise a Bergfried keep with surrounding moats and the foundations of a Romanesque palas. A chapel dedicated to John the Baptist was first mentioned in 1246, significantly enlarged in a Baroque style in 1772 and is still in use.

The fortification was first mentioned as Valchenstain Castle in an 1164 deed. The name may be derived from Proto-Germanic walhaz (foreigner, stranger; Romance/Celtic-speaker) in terms of a Romance (Italian) settlement, referring to descendants of the former Roman city of Teurnia, who had migrated to the remote valley during the Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps about 600.