Burgruine Groppenstein, Rock castle in Obervellach, Austria

Burgruine Groppenstein is a castle and chapel site positioned on a three-sided sloping rock formation above Raufen village, where the Mallnitzbach and Möll rivers converge. The remains occupy a strategic location within the Alpine landscape of Carinthia.

Burg Groppenstein was first documented in 1254 as "turris Cropensteine", when Salzburg archbishop Philipp enfeoffed his archer Heinrich Swärhaupt with holdings there. Around 1300 it passed to the Counts of Görz, and between 1470 and 1480 Görz ministerials rebuilt it as a late medieval stronghold, adding today's palas. In 1872 the Vienna architect Adolf Stipperger carried out a romanticising restoration of the decayed castle, giving it its present appearance.

The site takes its name from the nearby gorge and visitors experience it as part of a unified mountain landscape. The ruins and the gorge form an interconnected destination for those exploring the region on foot.

Several hiking trails lead to the ruins, ranging from the easier 3-kilometer route through the Groppenstein Gorge to more demanding mountain paths. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and allow time to explore the rocky terrain.

The name derives from the Old High German personal name Groppo, meaning greenling or cress, not from the gorge. The five-storey Romanesque bergfried, 23 metres high, survives from the original build and is linked to the Gothic palas by a wooden bridge on the second floor.