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20-434: The castle was built on a hill which had once been an ancient volcano. To be precise, it is the petrified remains of the solidified molten interior, a volcanic neck of a large stratovolcano that probably became extinct two or so million years ago, like other similar hills in north-central Europe. The peak is at 482 meters above sea level. The ancient basalt of the hill was used to build the castle. People have been living in

40-423: A volcanic neck or lava neck , is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile -charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. In a plinian eruption the plug is destroyed and ash is ejected. Glacial erosion can lead to exposure of

60-1027: A small, uninhabited, remote islet in the North Atlantic Ocean , are also volcanic plugs. In the United Kingdom , two examples of a building on a volcanic plug are the Castle Rock in Edinburgh , Scotland, and Deganwy Castle , Wales . The Law, Dundee , Ailsa Craig , Bass Rock , North Berwick Law and Dumgoyne hill are other examples of volcanic plugs located in Scotland . There are over 30 volcanic plugs in Northern Ireland , including Slemish in Ballymena , Tievebulliagh , Scawt Hill , Carrickarede , Scrabo and Slieve Gallion . There are several volcanic plugs in

80-664: Is a village in the Far North Province of Cameroon . Rhumsiki is located in the Mandara Mountains 55 km (34 mi) from Mokolo , and is located 3 km (2 mi) from the border with Michika LGA, Adamawa State , Nigeria . The village is similar to many others in northern Cameroon. The inhabitants, members of the Kapsiki ethnic group, live in small houses built from local stone and topped with thatched roofs; these homes are scattered throughout

100-514: Is known to have lived there is Rudiger von Hohenberg. Over the centuries the castle had many different owners, but only few played an important role. Among the later owners is the family of the Walseer who had feud with the sovereign of Styria in 1415. The Lords of Graben auf Kornberg appear as Wallseer administrators in Gleichenberg in the 14th and 15th centuries. The most important owner

120-648: Is one of the most photographed parts of the Mandara Mountains . Spectacular volcanic plugs are present in the center of La Gomera island in the Canary Islands archipelago, within the Garajonay National Park . Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress near the town of Dambulla in Sri Lanka . Approximately 180m high, it is now a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site . Borgarvirki is a volcanic plug located in north Iceland. A volcanic plug

140-649: Is situated in the town of Motta Sant'Anastasia in Italy. Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe chapel, whose construction started in 969, near Le Puy-en-Velay in France. The volcanic plug rises about 85 metres (279 ft) above the surroundings. Another building on a volcanic plug is the 14th century Trosky Castle in the Czech Republic . Strombolicchio , the northernmost of the Aeolian Islands , and Rockall ,

160-687: The Caribbean . Pinnacle Rock, Galápagos, Ecuador . There are several volcanic plugs in the North Island of New Zealand , including: In New Zealand's South Island , Onawe Peninsula on Banks Peninsula is a prominent volcanic plug, and erosion of Saddle Hill near Dunedin has also revealed a plug. Dunedin's Mount Cargill displays two plugs: its main summit and the subsidiary summit of Buttar's Peak. In Australia , The Nut in Tasmania are further examples, along with Mount Warning and

180-637: The Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province gives rise to several confirmed and suspected plugs. Chief among these is Castle Rock , located in British Columbia , which last erupted during the Pleistocene . The southern coast of Saint Lucia is dominated by the iconic Pitons , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The twin peaks, Gros Piton and Petit Piton, steeply rise more than 770 metres (2,530 ft) above

200-924: The United States , including Morro Rock in California , Devils Elbow located in the Heceta Head Lighthouse Scenic State Park on the Oregon coast, Thumb Butte in the Sierra Prieta of Arizona, and Shiprock in New Mexico . Devils Tower in Wyoming and Little Devils Postpile in Yosemite National Park , California, are also believed, by many geologists , to be volcanic plugs. In Canada,

220-475: The féticheur , a fortune-teller who predicts the future based on a crab's manipulation of pieces of wood. Rhumsiki is now a standard item on most tourist itineraries, a fact of which the travel literature disapproves. Rough Guides describes Rhumsiki as "overrun" and "tainted by organized tourism", and Lonely Planet calls it "something of a tourist trap ." The standard guided tour of the village leads The Rough Guide to doubt its authenticity: "The appeal of

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240-538: The area around Riegersburg for a few thousand years. A large village was founded in the 9th century B.C. with 300 people living here. Later, from 15 B.C. until 476 A.D. the region was part of the Roman Empire. In the 3rd and 9th century Bavarians immigrated and Hungarians invaded from the East. It was the beginning of a long time of armed conflicts. The history of the castle begins in the year 1122. The first knight who

260-551: The castle and the area was troubled by conflicts with the Turks and Hungarians. The castle was a safe place for the people nearby, sometimes offering refuge inside its walls for a few thousand. Lady Galler married three times and had one daughter who married a Count Purgstall. The castle passed to the Purgstall family, who died out around 1800. In 1822, the castle was bought by Sovereign Johann Josef von Liechtenstein. It has belonged to

280-632: The most beautiful landscapes in the world." The spectacular effect is created by surrounding volcanic plugs (the remnants of long-dormant volcanoes), basalt outcroppings, and the Mandara Mountains. The largest (and most photographed) of these rocks is Kapsiki Peak, a plug standing 1,224 m (4,016 ft) tall. Rhumsiki has adapted to the flow of tourists. Children in the village act as tour guides, showing visitors several pre-arranged attractions. Among these are craftspeople, such as blacksmiths, potters, spinners, and weavers; native dancers; and

300-404: The plug on one side, while a long slope of material remains on the opposite side. Such landforms are called crag and tail . If a plug is preserved, erosion may remove the surrounding rock while the erosion-resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive upstanding landform. Near the village of Rhumsiki in the Far North Province of Cameroon , Kapsiki Peak is an example of a volcanic plug and

320-688: The several peaks in the Warrumbungles in New South Wales. The 11 peaks of the Glasshouse Mountains National Park including Mount Beerwah , Mount Tibrogargan , Mount Coonowrin , Mount Cooroora , Mount Ngungun , Mount Tibberoowuccum, Mount Tunbubudla, and Mount Beerburrum, in South East Queensland are volcanic plugs. Rhumsiki Rhumsiki , also spelt Rumsiki and Roumsiki ,

340-466: The village and surrounding valley. Nevertheless, Rhumsiki is one of Cameroon's most popular tourist attractions and "the most touristic place in northern Cameroon". The attraction is the surrounding scenery. Gwanfogbe, et al., describe it as "remarkable", Lonely Planet as "striking", Rough Guides as "breathtaking" and Bradt Guides as an "almost lunar landscape". Writer and explorer André Gide wrote that Rhumsiki's surroundings are "one of

360-447: The visit is largely to get a taste of the 'real' Cameroon, and the built-in flaw is that the more people come, the more distorted and unreal life in the village becomes." The Rhumsiki 'plug' is very obviously phallic and both traditionally (barren women making sacrifices at its foot) and in the modern world (selling the hotel as a honeymoon destination) this has been one of the main features of Rhumsiki. Local legend has it that Rhumsiki

380-787: The von Liechtenstein family until the present day. The castle was taken by the 10th Guards Rifle Division of Soviet forces advancing towards Graz on 8 May 1945. The castle is owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein , who live down the village in a house. The castle serves as a museum, with 25 out of the 108 rooms being opened for visiting. Sixteen of the rooms show the history of Riegersburg Castle and nine deal with witches and sorcerers. 47°00′17″N 15°55′57″E  /  47.00472°N 15.93250°E  / 47.00472; 15.93250 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Volcanic neck A volcanic plug , also called

400-493: Was the baroness Katharina Elisabeth von Wechsler, who married Galler and who was known as Gallerin . Between 1637 and 1653 she finished the castle, making it one of the biggest and strongest castles in the country. It is surrounded by 3 kilometres (2 mi) of walls with 5 gates and 2 trenches and it contains 108 rooms. In the 17th century the border with the Ottoman Empire was sometimes only 20 to 25 km away from

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