Many impressive stories seem to be surfacing on the net concerning the Shroud of Turin, relating to the Templars. There are many theories with few definitive answers.

But in the spirit of sharing my personal experiences, I have posted several photos from my visit to the medieval castle of Lochenhaus, in Burgenland, Austria. Lochenhaus was once the property of the Knights of the Templars.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF LOCHENHAUS.

My story begins in March of 2006, when I attended a weekend seminar of the Frei Templer Akademy (the European equivalent of the Templar Fellowship of Amercia) at Schloß Lochenhaus, near Vienna, Austria. My Templar family had booked more modern lodgings for us on the castle grounds, across the road.

We arrived just after dusk. The Lochenhaus fortress cast a formidable shadow, in the moonless night. My luggage weighed my exhausted body down, as I ascended dimly lit stairs, then winded through a darkened corridor to my modest yet immaculate chalet room, overlooking treetops on a forested embankment.

Only a few minutes passed before we would meet other Templars in the castle pub for a light dinner. There was much to discover within the castle in addition to the schedule packed with meetings. So I needed to restore my energy in order to maximize my precious time at Lochenhaus!

I cleaned up from my long journey and momentarily stepped out onto my tiny balcony seeking light and refreshment from my 36 hours of travel from across the “pond.” I found stars glimmering brightly in the chilly rarified mountain air coupled with the fragrance of Alpine conifers gusting across the forest canopy.

I knew little of this historic place, never the less, I would experience more Templar History than I had hoped for. Throughout the next 2 days, I explored many rooms within the castle, from the museum and collections to public event halls. Although this article is far from comprehensive, I will share some highpoints of my discoveries within the walls of Lochenhaus.

This famous castle was once a Templar strong hold, which included a ‘Rittersaal,’ or Knights’ Hall, famous for its vaulted ceilings, a dungeon, a chapel, and another sacred space called a ‘Cultraum’ or hidden room with no doors!

The castle began as one of the earlier Cistercian monasteries built by San Bernard of Clairveaux in 1135 A.D. and then was turned over to the Templars in 1200. The Knights’ Hall retains the Cistercian architecture of the unornamented vaulted ceilings.
Today, the castle welcomes both overnight and day visitors into its glorious medieval courtyard and beyond.

There is even a Templar museum, laden with Templar treasures such as medieval swords, coins, seals, documents, maps and even medieval instruments of torture. Other areas of the castle held subtle reminders of Templar Heritage.

A medieval sculpture of Mary Magdalene caressing a skull adorned the tiny chapel.

The upper courtyard could be drawn right out of a fairytale, but ours is a Templartale! The legends surrounding this giant edifice stirred my imagination as I browsed the museum. And somehow, my templar heart sank deep into the German captions, even though I struggled to translate their meanings.

Three photos in the museum related to the legend of the Shroud of Turin. The first was of a “Grabtuch” or Grave cloth. The other two were of faces of men. One of the faces was of the head section of the full shroud.

The story of the full body shroud was that the cloth, dating from the time of Christ, had been brought by the Templars from Constantinople as a conquest of that famous crossroads of many cultures and seat of great wisdom. 

Templars held this great treasure as ‘investment capital’ until the fall of the Order. The King of Jerusalem was given preference in management of this most precious acquisition.

Another photo in the museum was of a man found in Templecombe, UK. The museum caption indicated that it a rendition of the Christ, but its true origin is not known.

Apparently, the shroud played a role in an important arrangement point in the process during the dissolution of the Order, which was handled by the leaders of the other holy orders. Then, under torture, the imprisoned Templars admitted to idolatry. And by the 1300’s the shroud had gone into hiding.

The heads of these posted photos may have represented the Baphomet. I read in the museum that the Arabic word ‘abufihamet’ is translated as the father of wisdom. The Arabic word originates from the word “stream.” Another word found associated with the shroud was ‘Saint Sidone.’ A reflection or negative image of the holy face was part of the shrines used in the inner part of the Order.

The museum stated that only in the Paris Temple were such reliquaries found. But the museum captions did not know where these faces came from.

The castle upper courtyard held several points of interest:
 

• A portico leading to the Knights Hall was once part of the original Cistercian abbey, with its vaulted ceilings. Now it functions as a banquet hall for celebrations and wedding receptions.
• Immediately outside the doorway of the Knights Hall is an ancient well, which has served the water needs of the castle dwellers since the dawn of the abbey. To measure its depth, I tossed a coin into it and waited several seconds before I heard the coin hit the water below! Rising from beside the well is a very old vine, whose trunk seemed to be almost as old as the castle wall!
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  Then an unassuming grate in the floor suggested something more than met the eye. It was not a sewer grate, but an oculus to a room below.

• I found the Templar museum nestled into a public area of the castle with its templar coins and seals. Toward the rear of the exhibits was an arched doorway which led into a barrel vaulted crypt-like room with an altar in an apse at the eastern end.

• A single source of light shined down from the ceiling. It was grated and opened to the elements above in the upper courtyard. I then realized that I was standing in the ‘Cultraum’ or hidden room, the most sacred space of the Templars.

The room was masterfully built completely of stone with little mortar into the northeastern section of the castle at large. Natural daylight gave way to darkening evening with it biting chill. A carved stone which was called the ‘tabernacle stone’ supported the table altar in the apse. The room was otherwise vacant of adornment or furniture. I could only decifer an etching in the ceiling of a Jerusalem cross.

How did the Templars descend into this room… with ropes? What cherished ceremonies and worship found a home in this dank yet secluded grotto through the centuries? What gifts of love to the Almighty rose through the oculus?

After two days of sheer immersion in Templar history at Lochenhaus, I packed my belongings into my Templar family’s mini-van and settled into the back seat for our drive to Vienna and then the flight back to Texas. A late winter snow storm was approaching. It arrived the morning of my departure and  the wings of my jet plane needed to be de-iced!

 Even now, Lochenhaus memories remain with me as though they were yesterday. Whether or not the Shroud of Turin slept at Lochenhaus for a century, hidden from less than pure hearts may never be known. But the principles of the Templar way of life continue to dwell in the hearts of modern Knights around the world.

Diximus!