Sachsendorf Castle

Sachsendorf Castle was a lowland castle in the market town of Burgschleinitz-Kühnring. The castle was built in the middle of the 11th century as a fortified house on the ridge of the Manhartsberg and was probably the seat of the minnesinger Ulrich von Sachsendorf in the 13th century.

The first documented owner mentioned in a Kuenring document from around 1180/1185 is Alhart de Sassendorf. Later owners included Ulrich von Sachsendorf (mentioned in 1230 and 1249), Ulrich der Zink von Sachsendorf (1340), Niklas Pillung von St. Gilgenberg (1384) and Konrad von Kreig (1430). In 1475, Wilhelm von Missingdorf transferred Sachsendorf to the Fellabrunner zu Losensteinleiten after several changes of ownership. Towards the end of the 15th century, the castle was destroyed by Hungarian troops and not rebuilt.

The castle area is surrounded by an earthen rampart and covers an area of approximately 3,600 m². Individual finds of wood and ceramics prove that unfortified wooden huts already stood at this swampy location in the middle of the 10th century, which were supplemented by a stone tower with 1.5 meter thick walls towards the end of the century. Although the tower was demolished again in the 11th century, the area remained protected by wooden palisades even after that. In the middle of the 13th century, the construction of a fortified castle began, which was surrounded by a rectangular curtain wall.

During archaeological excavations from 1987 onwards, the remains of a Romanesque chapel with a recessed semicircular apse from around 1180/90 were uncovered. Its walls are preserved up to a height of about 1.5 meters and in some parts still show remnants of the original plaster. To the west of it rise the remains of a former residential tower with a wall thickness of about three meters.

Part of the former wooden palisades was reconstructed in the 20th century. Information boards provide insights into the building's history.