Schönbühel Castle
The sight of the proud dominate Danube Schönbühel Castle is a picture that would be sealed in the mind of man permanently. Schönbühel stands on the edge of a high, and uneven, cliff in the Austrian valley of Wachau. Known as the "keeper of the Wachau”, the castle stands on this place more than 1000 years.
The palace was opened to the pleasant view of placements on the opposite bank of the Danube small market town of the same name Schönbühel. More precisely, Schönbühel stands 210 m high on a cliff, on the right bank of the Danube in District Lower Austrian Melk.
The oldest records in the historical documents that mention Schönbühel, date from 1135. Originally the castle Schönbühel was erected by property of the Bishop of Passau. The earliest parts of the palace, kept up to date, date back 12 centuries, but in the following centuries it has been repeatedly restored and reconstructed. In 1419 the castle was bought by the Lords of Starhemberg, which total 1643 numbers throughout the empire and 1765 are princes.
The chapel was a branch of the parish of Gerolding. In another part of the palace once was housed the school but was closed in 1798, after which for Schönbühel occur black centuries. A major restoration of the castle is taken after 1900 to 1929, the palace belonged to the Counts Beroldingen, which subsequently sold it to other nobles. Even today the Schönbühel Castle is their property.
Today, near the main entrance of Schönbühel, we can see the ruins of a church built in the 11th century, which operates until 1667. Over time, the castle was abandoned about 1819 and well preserved are only the towers, main entrance and the church. As it stands, the Schönbühel Castle seen today, was built around 1821, when added to were the newer parts of the complex.
Today the Schönbühel Castle is one of the obligatory tourist attractions of the boat in the Melk area. Sheer scale of the keeper of the Wachau is located only 5 km northeast of Melk. Wachau Valley is rich in many more historical sights worth visiting.
If a person has a few days, could consider calmly the Bennedictian Melk Monastery (Abbey of Melk), the area of Old Town Krems, which is a magnificent Schönbühel. Interesting are also the Kuenringer Castle in Durnstein, Aggstein Castle, Göttwaig Abbey, the Grafenegg Castle, the Schallaburg Castle and others.
