Burgruine Thurnschall

The ruin occupies a rocky hilltop in woodland on the west flank of the Lessach valley, reached from the valley road by a bridge and the old uphill path. The surviving fabric shows a compact plan with massive stone construction. Excavation revealed walling of exceptional thickness, exposed down to foundations, indicating substantial defensive masonry from the medieval period. Work in 2002 brought these broad sections of stone to light.

On the western side a polygonal tower rises to about eight metres where masonry survives above the slope. From this tower the remains of the enclosing wall run off at pointed angles, forming the defensive circuit. A long wall face above the steep decline to the Lessach stream stretches roughly eighteen metres and stands to about seven metres in height. Its stonework is built in coarse, layered courses that give a robust, roughly horizontal appearance.

Within the standing walls a circular open area lies at the plan’s center, framed by surviving masonry. At approximately three metres above the ground level in one wall a row of socket holes marks where timbers once supported an intermediate floor, evidence for multi-storey internal arrangements. On the west side of the circular space there was, until recently beneath a larger wall segment, an open breach leading down into an underground chamber; that gap connected the surface area to a subterranean room.

Archaeological fieldwork and rescue conservation have altered parts of the ruin. Early 20th-century stabilisation was interrupted, and later masonry-base consolidation was carried out to secure standing walls. Finds recovered from the site include a knife blade and a heavy firearm support fork, the latter reflecting activity or reuse at the site from the mid-1500s. A measured plan of the castle layout has been recorded, showing the tower, enclosing walls, and internal circular place as they remain today.