Forchtenstein

Forchtenstein
Municipality
Coat of arms
Forchtenstein Location within Burgenland Forchtenstein Location within Austria
Coordinates: 47°43′N 16°20′E
Country	Austria
State	Burgenland
District	Mattersburg
Government
• Mayor	Friederike Reismüller
Area
• Total	16.59 km2 (6.41 sq mi)
Elevation	343 m (1,125 ft)
Population  (2018-01-01)
• Total	2,796
• Density	170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC 1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 2 (CEST)
Postal code	7212
Website	www.gemeindeforchtenstein.at

Forchtenstein (Hungarian: Fraknóváralja or Fraknókő, Croatian: Fortnavski grad; until 1972, Forchtenau, Fraknó, Fortnava) is a town in the district of Mattersburg in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is the location of Forchtenstein Castle, one of the many palaces of the famous Esterházy family.

It consists of two subdivisions (Katastralgemeinden) which were formerly separate towns: Forchtenau (Hungarian: Fraknó) and Neustift an der Rosalia (Hungarian: Újtelek).

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1869	1,685	—
1880	1,732	2.8%
1890	1,816	4.8%
1900	2,054	13.1%
1910	2,158	5.1%
1923	2,127	−1.4%
1934	2,213	4.0%
1939	2,223	0.5%
1951	2,184	−1.8%
1961	2,363	8.2%
1971	2,502	5.9%
1981	2,557	2.2%
1991	2,678	4.7%
2001	2,832	5.8%
2011	2,845	0.5%

The castle gained a nickname as the "Castle of Fear". The castle has one red and one black tower. The castle boasted many torture chambers including one called the Pit of Oblivion, a deep pit where torture victims would be strung upside down and deprived of food and water until they died. The Pit of Oblivion is located in the black tower. Although many of the rooms are now available to the public either for rental or visitation, the treasure room of the castle still remains private and inaccessible.

Gallery

• 
  Sculpture at Esterházy Castle
• 
  At Esterházy Castle
• 
  At Esterházy Castle
• 
  Aerial photograph of the castle

External links

• Medieval Warfare: Castles of Fear