Nov 5: Part 1: Riegersburg Castle

I'm trying a new technique - embedding pictures in the middle of the post so you can see what you're reading about. So keep reading! This one's a longer post. :-)

A typical Saturday morning at home in Canada would usually be spent under the covers for as long as possible, shutting out the very persistent sunlight streaming in through the window. Then, eventually, the covers would be reluctantly pushed aside in order to make the long journey upstairs to the kitchen, where (with any luck), the perfect cup of coffee awaits. However, when you are studying in a foreign country with lots of things to see, you take advantage of these free Saturdays. (Translation: caffeine, caffeine, cereal, more caffeine…)

Today, we were invited by E & P to visit Riegersburg Castle with them, about an hour away from Graz by car. It was a really lovely drive out – all the leaves were changing colour and we got to see lots of different villages as we passed at a cheerful clip of 100km/hr (the max is 130km…;-).

Shot from the ground.

No, unfortunately I didn't take this one. But we didn't get this view and I think it's necessary to include to give you the "full picture"...:-)

The view from the top of the castle is amazing. You can see for miles, and it was perfect weather – sunny and warm for November. No coats! I had a serious problem in keeping my finger off the shutter button. ;-)

I don't think this needs a caption. :-D

E had a problem lowering her camera too.

The castle was first built by a knight, Rüdiger von Hohenberg , in 1138, but was expanded later on. It stands on volcanic rock and remained unconquered for centuries. One of the owners of this castle was particularly interesting – Baroness Katharina Elisabeth von Galler. The “Gallerin”, as she was known, lived a very independent life (1607-1672). She owned her own property and was responsible for the reconstruction of the castle. The white Baroque hall was constructed under her authority. She even made a contract with one of her husbands to ensure her autonomy in their relationship, which included her freedom to dine and sleep apart from him. (She was married three times and was involved in extensive court battles. “Happily ever after” didn’t quite apply to this castle.)

The female burgher, the "Gallerin".

The white Baroque hall. It's still used for functions.

Another woman who is featured in the castle’s exhibits is Katharina Paldauf, one of the Gallerin’s servants who was convicted of being a witch. Also known as the “Blumenhexe” (“flower witch”), she was accused of causing hail storms to ruin the crops and was allegedly able to grow roses in the wintertime. She was believed to be executed in 1675.

Portrait of the "Blumenhexe"

The "Malleus Maleficarum", the "Hammer of Witches" - a handbook for how to identify witches and their evil activities. This document's influence caused the death of hundreds of women and men accused of being "witches".





There was also an exhibit on witches and wizards, because this area was the scene of many witch trials and accusations in the late 1600s. Witches were generally believed to cause bad weather, the death of children, poor crops, strange livestock behaviour… Marginalized members of society, mostly unmarried women, were easy scapegoats, because belief in witchcraft was widespread. The exhibit even had maps showing alleged conference points for the witches, their paths of flight, the locations of their Sabbaths…

Flight patterns of witches in the Riegersburg area.

After taking more pictures than we cared to admit (I’m still deleting duplicates!), we made our way down the path. Beautiful view, but not the most even ground. Can you imagine hauling carts full of supplies up the hill?

Another view from the top...:-D

On the way down...