Eibenstein Castle

The Eibenstein ruin is a ruin in Eibenstein in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya in Lower Austria.

First mentioned in a document in 1194, the castle was sold on April 24, 1543, to the brothers Christoph and Erasmus von Schneckenreith or Schneckenreither. This family died out in 1569. At an unknown time, the castle came under the rule of Drosendorf and is now owned by the Hoyos family.

Since Georg Matthäus Vischer did not depict the Eibenstein ruin, in contrast to numerous other buildings in the vicinity, local historian Franz Xaver Kießling considers it theoretically possible that the castle was already desolate during his lifetime. However, during the Thirty Years' War, the castle ruin is said to have been inhabited at least temporarily.

In various legends, the last owner of Eibenstein Castle is associated with the Knights Templar, and the castle was finally devastated by rebellious peasants.

The Eibenstein ruin is located on the south bank of the Thaya opposite the village of Eibenstein with the parish church of St. Giles. Large parts of the castle's north wall are said to have collapsed over the steep rock face into the Thaya in 1867.