Ruine Ligist, Medieval castle ruins in Ligist, Austria

Ruine Ligist consists of castle remains perched on a hilltop above the Ligist Valley in Styria. The ruins display structures from different building periods, with walls and foundations from the 12th through 17th centuries still standing.

Built around 1200, probably by Eppenstein ministeriales, the castle guarded the wine trade route from the Kainach valley over the Hebalm to Carinthia. The first documented lord was Ulrich de Lubgast in 1222; around 1300 the Saurau family acquired rights, and from 1783 they lived in the converted Meierhof, Schloss Ligist. Declared dilapidated and further damaged by Napoleon's troops, the castle was left to decay from 1820.

The name Ligist derives from the Lubgast family, who held the fortress from the 13th century; the castle is also called Alt-Ligist and Lubgast. From the mid-16th century the Saurau turned the castle chapel into a Protestant prayer house, and after 1599 a new chapel dedicated to Mary was set up on the floor above.

Access to the ruins is gained via a wooden bridge crossing where the drawbridge once stood. Car parking is situated near Ruinenweg before reaching the castle grounds.

The 18.7-metre Bergfried is the castle's oldest part, dating to the late 12th or early 13th century, but its present look comes from a Renaissance remodelling when several vaulted ceilings were inserted. The tower rises above the lower ruined wall with its arched window recess.