A view of the outer ringwall from the Graben, or dry moat. This view is facing south, with the dominant position of the Burgfried, or keep, obvious. In designing Landeck, its creators set up the keep to be in an ideal position to assist in defending the gate.
Left, a view from within the Hof, showing the keep (left) and the entrance way to the main gate (center). The "window" on the keep is in fact the authentic entrance. The entrance used today was apparently constructed during restoration. The keep is 19 meters high, has four levesl and has walls 2 meters thick. The entrance shown here is 9 meters above the castle grounds.
Right, part of what was the western living quarters. Much of it is now gone and it appears that the debris field has already been stripped and sifted.
Left, several views from the top of the keep.
The first shows the tower on the northwest side of the ringwall, or flank turret. This turret would have had wooden floors and a roof to provide protection from the elements and missile attack. There appeared to be evidence of a spiral stairway built into the wall.
The second shows main entrance, with (from left to right), the bridge over the dry moat, the bridge tower (now larger gone), the forward defense zone, and the main gate. This view demonstrates the dominant position the keep had in controlling the main entrance.
An excellent model of the castle showing what it looked like around 1400, prior to the addition of the outer ringwall and forward defenses. Later on the eastern living quarters (#8) was expanded along most of the length of the inner wall (#2). Note also that as with most castles, the inner buildings were designed in such a way as to contain attackers in the open courtyard should the main defenses get breached. They could then be attacked from all sides by a variety of missiles, followed by a sally that would drive them back through the main gate or destroy them outright.
Left, within the keep is an excellent collection of locally recovered artifacts, along with an extensive history of the castle and region.
Right, a view of one of the levels within the keep. the platforms and stairs are recent reconstructions. Each level has some type of historical display or collection, making the keep a mini-museum.
Left, a view of the western living quarters from the keep.
