Forchtenstein Castle Guided Tour
Description
The armoury with its holdings that cover over four centuries of history. Rarities and masterpieces from the Kunstkammer (cabinet of curiosities) and Ottoman booty. Areas like the kitchen and bakery convey an impression of daily life at the castle in the past A staggering fifty metres deep well, it was once essential for survival at the fortress.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Forchtenstein Castle, Burgenland’s imposing landmark and one of the oldest museum sites in Europe, has long served as a “strongbox” for the Esterházy princes’ exquisite treasures and as a depot for military equipment. Visit the armoury with its holdings that cover over four centuries of history. Further highlights on this tour include rarities and masterpieces from the Kunstkammer (cabinet of curiosities) and Ottoman booty. Areas like the kitchen and bakery convey an impression of daily life at the castle in the past. At the end of the tour, take a look down the well. A staggering fifty metres deep, it was once essential for survival at the fortress.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(4)
The only reason this tour is not given five stars is that this year they have done away with the English-speaking tour due, we were told, to staff cutbacks. You can now only get the castle tour in German or Hungarian. This is, in our view, false economy as once that becomes generally known the castle will receive few English visitors unless they understand German, for almost none will speak Hungarian. And although the entrance ticket allows you to view the second floor on your own, only the guided tour lets you visit the armoury and the kitchen area. We took the Hungarian tour. Our guide, Adam, was first class, highly knowledgeable and happy to answer a few questions in English from time to time, but it was not his job to do so and it took him away from his real task which was to conduct a tour in Hungarian for the castle's many Hungarian visitors. This is a splendidly preserved castle dramatically perched on the edge a rock, with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. The armoury is fascinating as is the kitchen and the 50 metres deep well. it is well worth a visit, you can drive right up to the castle before entering and there are good catering facilities. Only the withdrawal of the English tour detracts. We visited on a boiling hot day and the cool of the rooms, some of which have walls 7 metres thick, was most welocme.
Thank you very much for your detailed and thoughtful feedback! We truly appreciate your kind words about the castle and especially about your guide, Adam – we will be very happy to pass this on to him. We also fully understand your disappointment regarding the absence of a regular English-language tour. Thank you very much for pointing this out. We are happy to offer private tours in English at any time upon request. Our regular English-language tours were temporarily suspended due to low demand. However, if interest increases again, we would be very happy to include them in our program once more. Thank you again for your visit and your valuable feedback – we hope to welcome you back to the castle in the future!
One of the best preserved castles in Austria. The tour was just over an hour long and was more than informative. You can feel the love for their profession in all employees. The stairs are a bit arduous for people with knee problems, but here too they act with a lot of patience and understanding and are taken into consideration without giving the feeling of stopping the group. Also in the ticket shop you are served very friendly.
We visited the castle and took the "English language" tour, which was really excellent. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and also very friendly. She even came around to talk with us after we continued exploring the castle. The castle, the displays, and the views were all well worth the trip and cost of entry.
Absolutely worth to visit. Very nice place with a ton of artifacts and interesting facts about the place. The tour was great. Worth to pay the extra few euros
