Heidenturm Kittsee, ruined tower in Kittsee, Austria
Heidenturm in Kittsee is a medieval tower ruin built in Romanesque style with four levels and a square stone structure. It stands isolated in the landscape with remnants of a gable wall visible on the east side, which once belonged to the adjacent Michaelskirche.
The tower's origin and builder are disputed; it may have been adapted from a Roman structure by the Árpád dynasty at the medieval Hungarian-Austrian border. It is the only building of the abandoned village of Lebarn to survive the First Vienna Turkish Siege of 1529. In older literature it was assigned to Roman times and called turricula semidurata in 1527. It was restored in 1948 and has been a protected monument since September 1932.
The name Heidenturm ("Heathen Tower") is a popular label; locally the ruin is also called Öder Turm ("Desolate Tower"). It is the only surviving building of the abandoned village of Lebarn and serves as the emblem on Kittsee's coat of arms. The tower stands on the old Amber Road, a few metres from the Lower Austrian border.
The ruin stands in the Turmfeldäcker plot southwest of Kittsee's centre, a few metres from the Lower Austrian border, on the old Amber Road near remains of the limes. It is reached on foot from the village; the surrounding fields are open farmland, so wear sturdy shoes and expect no facilities at the site.
The ruin is the only surviving building of the abandoned village of Lebarn, which otherwise disappeared; it withstood the First Vienna Turkish Siege of 1529. In 1527 it was already recorded as turricula semidurata, a half-hardened tower. Since September 1932 it has been a protected monument and serves as the heraldic emblem of Kittsee.
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