Kollmitz Castle

Kollmitz Castle, locally known as Burg Kollmitz, lies near the village of Kollmitzgraben, in the province of Lower Austria in Austria.

Kollmitz Castle is situated on a ridge at the bend in the Thaya River valley and is said to be one of Austria's largest ruins. The ruins include a semicircular gate tower, a round corner tower, a keep, and the remains of a two-story residential building.

The castle was first mentioned in the 12th century as "Chalmunze". The castle was the property of several noble families and later on of the Gera abbey and the Lords of Raabs. The castle, however, had its heyday during the Renaissance under the Lords of Hofkirchen.

The keep has 2.90-meter-thick walls and is some 25 meters high. The gothic corner tower, probably built in the 15th century, has walls 3.7 meters thick.

The residential building was renovated around 1700. In 1800, however, the roofs were removed due to the roof tax imposed during the Napoleonic Wars. This made the castle uninhabitable, after which it fell into ruin.

About 400 meters north of the actual castle, stands a large, freestanding curtain wall, called the Bohemian or Devil's wall. It was built around 1448 across the smallest part of the ridge and defends the road leading to the castle. The wall is 5 meters high and about 160 meters long. The wall is a unique example of a, this far, separated defensive wall in Austria. It kept the castle safe in 1450 when it was besieged by the troops of the Bohemian King Podiebrad.

The castle ruins are now owned by the city of Raabs and are cared for by the Society for the Preservation of the Kollmitz Ruins. The ruins are freely accessible.

This is a cool ruin; lots of passageways and several large cellars. You can also climb both the keep and the round tower. Also, the road leading to the castle itself is a pleasant walk through the woods. I could not find any substantial history of the castle, so if you can provide any information, please do!

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