Burgruine Finkenstein, Medieval castle ruins in Finkenstein am Faaker See, Austria.

Burgruine Finkenstein is a medieval castle ruin perched on a steep cliff above Lake Faak. The site offers vantage points overlooking the lake and the distant Karawanks mountain range.

First mentioned in a 1142 deed, the castle was held by the Carinthian dukes and enfeoffed to ministeriales who called themselves von Finkenstein. In 1233 Lord Henry of Finkenstein sided with Duke Bernhard of Carinthia and had Bamberg's prince-bishop Ekbert of Andechs arrested here, earning a papal ban. When the line died out around 1300, the estate passed to the Habsburg dukes; Emperor Maximilian I enfeoffed it to Sigismund of Dietrichstein in 1508, whose descendants kept it until 1861.

The name Finkenstein comes from the noble family that held the castle from the 12th century; a branch later appeared in East Prussia as Finck von Finckenstein. Since 1985 the grounds have hosted the Burgarena, an open-air venue of 1,150 seats used for concerts and festivals, and a restaurant operates in the former castle during the summer months.

The ruin stands at 788 metres on a cliff above Lake Faak, reached on foot; a panoramic lift was planned for autumn 2022 to give barrier-free access. The grounds serve as an event location with excursion catering in the summer months, and the on-site restaurant was rebuilt after an October 2008 fire and reopened in 2009.

The 15 m western wall of the Palas is divided on its second storey by shallow keel-arch niches and pilasters with round services, and holds four profiled keel-arch windows. Between the middle windows is the keel-arched former entrance to an external balcony that no longer exists.