Preliminary remarks: Current denominations used to describe a number of castle structures such as the “Maidens’ Tower”, “Smithy”, “Treasure Tower, “Garden of the Roses” etc. are all imaginative romantic attributes from the 19th century and do not in any way reflect their historic functions.

The castle was built on top a 150m high west-easterly orientated sandstone rock shelf. High belays border both lathy ends of the rock shelf and steeply descend towards the Danube river on three sides.

However, on the eastern side the terrain rises so steeply that the castle seems considerably excessive even from a short distance, causing it to become vulnerable from a strategic point of. The smaller of the two belays called “Bürgel”, rises like a shield towards the endangered side.

The larger and higher belay situated towards the western end of the castle was named “Stein”. The outer bailey (“Vorburg”) which originally was safeguarded by a ditch cutting of the neck of the promontory (“Halsgraben”), was formally located in an open space in front of the castle encircling the southern part of the main castle. Only two estate buildings of the 16^th/17^th centuries have been preserved. The old castle path, rising high on the northern side of the castle, is still known as “Mule’s Path” (“Eselssteig”) today.

A ramp thrown up in the 19^th cent. crosses the former ditch which did cut off the promontory. It leads to the outer gate of the main castle protruding a massive block of masonry of 8 meters thickness which – according to old depictions – once bore a wooden superstructure. At the same time the adjacent curtain wall built towards the southern side was erected creating a wide circle around the „Bürgel“ and ending in a battlement with loopholes for hakebuts, built in 1531. Just behind the gateway the Gatekeepers’s abode (“Torwarthaus”) was built (5^th phase of construction respectively in 1606 sqq.) which nowadays accommodates the ticket office and the castle souvenir shop.

The following defensive reinforcement section which was incorporated around 1300 (2^nd phase of construction) is at the rear end of the Gatekeeper’s abode (“Torwarthaus”) and belongs to the second gateway building.

This gateway, similar to the 1st, has a large pointed arch with a small gate for pedestrians, which was built during the course of the recent reinforcements done in 1531. The construction of the gateway allowed the integration of a concave chamber with a 4m deep cellar, which, because of the appearance of its entrance (“Angstloch”), was mistaken for a dungeon.

The 3^rd and inner gateway is located inside a hook-shaped shielded wall with a nominal diameter of 4-5m and height of 12m. The inscription is still clearly legible, it reads that a certain Jörg Scheck vom Wald had commenced with the restorations of the dilapidated castle on the 12th September 1429 (“the Monday after the birth of Holy Mary”). Towards the southern part, aside from the gateway, the solid wall block is penetrated by an older wall fragment dating from the 1^st phase of construction, thus bearing witness to the former existence of an older gateway in the exact same place.
 

After passing through the 3rd gateway one reaches the small central courtyard, the so called “Mittelhof”, stretching across the area between the two belays, the „Bürgel“ and the „Stein“. Forming part of the highly dense vicinity is a cistern banged into the foot of the „Bürgel“-rock. The southern front of the central courtyard is occupied by a hall building of 50 m length which contains a hall of 23 x 9 m. This has been restored in 2004/05 as a festive hall after having been altered several times. The entire wing including the festive hall already did exist in the 1st phase of construction (around 1200). During the 3rd phase of construction (around 1429-36) vaults were integrated into the basement, as well as it being extended by a cellar towards the western side.

Nowadays the impressive cellar vaults with their big pillars serve as an exhibition hall and accommodate an amusing theatrical staging of the Nibelungen saga.
The well tower („Brunnenturm“) is a polygonal corpus which encloses the castle fountain and is situated towards the eastern side of the great hall. The building, together with the fountain and the smithy, on the eastern side, originate from the 4^th phase of construction (around 1531). The beautiful renaissance window found in the great hall caused confusion concerning the determination of the date of construction of the hall. The very unusual type of window for that time period is situated on the walls facing the court yard and is thus merely an addition made in the 1^st half of the 19^th century.

The smithy, a single storey arched building which is located adjacent to the eastern side, is in fact a bakery which was built simultaneously to the well tower („Brunnenturm“). Even the oven inside which also functioned as a heater for both small rooms has been well preserved. The castle kitchen with its enormous pentagonal pyramid-shaped chimney is situated opposite the great hall. The kitchen, its original dichotomy, which includes a back room with dishwashing and cooking facilities such as a sink and a large stove under a wide chimney and a front room, (which were all constructed at the same time as the northern wall in the 3rd phase of construction) was all completely preserved.
The old service window facing the courtyard still maintains its picturesque appearance and the old kitchen still fulfils its original function until today. The house for the courtiers (“Dürnitz”) next to the kitchen, which originally served as the recreational and dining room for the residence of the castle, which since its restoration in 1922, functions as a guest room and castle tavern. A magnificent view over the Danube and Wachau rivers can be enjoyed from the windows of the room, which used to have separate doors to the kitchen and the courtyard. The courtyard narrows down in certain places towards the upper castle and “Stein” to a width of 4-5m. This also marks the spot where an older fragment of the curtain wall (from the 1^st phase of construction) can be found in the northern wall.
Towards the east the central courtyard is surmounted by the steep rock of the “Bürgel”.

The foundations of an edgeless angular building which already existed in the 1st phase of construction (around 1200), are clearly visible. The drawing done by Wolf Huber dating from 1542, shows a double-storey Fortified House (“Feste Haus “). The entrance could be reached from the southern side by climbing over bridges, ladders and steps hammered into the rock. Scheck vom Wald incorporated a small barbican into the Fortified House and reinforced it with a small tower (1429-36, 3rd phase of construction).

The upper castle - situated on the belay called „Stein“ - dominates the entire central castle and overlooks the long and winding Danube river far down below. The towering front façade of the stronghold is distinguished by its tremendous architectural vitality and power.

The elevated entrance with its opening inside the stronghold, facing the panel of the drawbridge and the jutty, is encompassed by the enormous buildings of the Maidens’ Tower and the castle’s chapel. Originally the elevated entrance could be reached by a wooden gallery, ascending from the courtyard along the northern wall. Ending at the rock wall of the “Stein” a short runway leads to almost before the elevated entrance before disappearing into nothingness. One could only access the castle porch through the opened drawbridge.

The elevated entrance was built together with the central zone in the 3rd phase of construction (1429-36), whereas the Maidens’ Tower represents a typical residential tower of the 14th century. With 3 of its walls the enormous tower resting on older foundations, dating back from the 1st phase of construction (around 1200), it also used to have a slightly larger expansion towards the west. Gaining its current shape and dimensions in the 2nd phase of construction around 1300 as well as in the 3rd phase. As two additional storeys were built, a dichotomy was formed by the integration of the internal walls and wide openings for new windows over the flying arches.

The inside of the castle was remodelled by barricading the flying arches and by incorporating new internal walls, massive wooden stairs, a wooden and several privies, this occurring during the 4^th phase of construction (around 1531). Chimneys suggest former heatability of the castle.
Only a few metres next to the Maidens’ Tower, a loophole gate leads from the narrow courtyard of the Stein to the outside of the castle, which only steeply declines well down below. The backdoor was barricaded during the 4^th phase of construction (around 1531) when a small vault was erected instead.

Blocky-fishbone-shaped bricks that were used in the 1st phase of construction are to some extent found in the northern block of buildings, consisting of the chapel and the great hall („Palas“). Giving evidence to the existence of previous buildings with almost similar dimensions being built here before.

Nowadays, accessibility to the chapel and the great hall is attained by a short wooden staircase. During the 1^st phase of construction the Castle Chapel consecrated to the Saints George and Koloman, already had a somewhat larger but identically shaped predecessor with a slightly rectangular nave and round apsis. The ground floor dates back to the 2^nd phase of construction (around 1300), the upper part dating back to the 3^rd phase (around 1429-36) and today’s pointed windows belonging to the 4^th – evidently manifesting each phase of construction. Supposedly, 1113 which was formerly painted on the triumphal arch was mistakenly considered to be the year of establishment of the castle – the date was derived from Arabic numerals, thus being an interpretational error because such numerals were not used at that time.

Only during the 4th phase of construction (1531) were nave and apsis furnished with cross-ribbed vaults, beforehand the chapel possessed a flat roof. Whilst the chapel was fitted with new arches and windows the inside was latterly fettled and several consecration crosses were painted on the walls, which can still be seen today. Of particular interest seem to be the upper transverse slots which open to the first floor of the adjacent great hall (“Palas”), they allowed the acoustic control of the sermons and caused the blessings of the chaplain to spread out to the neighbouring premises.

The „benediction slots“ were part of the construction plan by Jörg Scheck vom Wald (3^rd phase of construction resp. 1429-36) who was not exactly well-known for his great devotion to religion. In 2004 the inside of the chapel was thoroughly restored and the gallery reconstructed.

Arising as the highest point of the entire castle complex the great hall („Palas“) provides a magnificent view over the entire surrounding area. The foundations of the great hall emanate from the 1^st phase of construction, the ground floor incl. the internal wall from the 2^nd phase (around 1300) and the upper floor was integrated during the 3^rd, consisting of the two former upper entrances as well as the hood of the fireplace situated diagonally across.

A barricaded door opening found towards the northern end proves to be very captivating, it corresponds closely with the massive panel which extends into the abyss next to the “garden of the roses” („Rosengärtlein“). Therefore it can be deduced that both door and panel belong to the former privy whose second panel stood in the way of the barricading of the rose garden and consequently had to be destroyed. Thus the „Rosengärtlein“ was constructed by extending a former narrow rock outcrop only during the 3^rd phase of construction (1429-36).
According to the legend of the “Rosengärtlein” the tiny outside platform received its name due to fact that the cruel Jörg Scheck vom Wald shackled and abandoned his proudest and most defiant prisoners there. Eventually, the lovely “roses” only had the choice between a slow and cruel death by starving or an instant suicide. Luckily one of his victims survived the leap into the depth. He escaped and reported Scheck’s malpractices to the Emperor who subsequently lead his troops on hidden paths to the castle.