Schloss Grafenegg

About

Schloss Grafenegg is a castle in Grafenegg, Lower Austria, Austria. Together with Burg Kreuzenstein and Schloss Anif near Salzburg, it is considered to be an outstanding example of romantic historical architecture in Austria.

In 1294, a small settlement named Espersdorf was mentioned for the first time on the current site of Schloss Grafenegg. At these times, there were only a mill and a farmstead. After 1435, the site was surrounded by a ring wall and a moat. It received the name Grafenegg in the second half of the 15th century, when it came into possession of its namesake Ulrich von Grafenegg. It passed to Holy Roman emperor Frederick III in 1477. His son, emperor Maximilian I sold it to Heinrich Prüschenk, whose son Johann I Count Hardegg reconstructed the castle around 1500. The slender tower in the east wing dates from this late gothic period. In 1536, Bernhard I Thurzó acquired the castle and the lordship of Grafenegg. He had the portal to east tower constructed in Renaissance style in 1538. Also, he founded the Grafenegger branch of the Thurzó family, which died out with his son Bernhard II in 1596. The castle was inherited by his daughter Benigna, who was married to Martin von Starhemberg.

After several changes of ownership, Johann Baptist Verda von Verdenberg, chancellor and confidant of emperor Ferdinand II and his son emperor Ferdinand III, had the complex converted into a fortified palace between 1622 and 1633. At the four corners of the castle, surrounded by walls and a moat, so-called rampart houses were built, which still exist today. During the Thirty Years' War, these were used to set up artillery pieces. Nevertheless, the castle was still taken by Swedish troops in 1645 and temporarily occupied. In the course of the reconstruction work, a chapel was completed in the north wing in 1633, which was dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

From the Verdenberg family, the castle and its estates passed to the Counts of Enckevort and subsequently to the Counts of Breuner. Count August von Breuner-Enckevoirt (1796-1877) inherited Schloss Grafenegg in 1813. He and his son August Johann (1828-1894) reconstructed the castle between 1840 and 1888 in the spirit of romantic historicism with help of father and son Leopold and Hugo Ernst. Leopold Ernst was also the master builder of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. They fully redesigned the castle into its current form. The Breuner counts lost a large part of their fortune during the financial crisis of 1873. As a result, a planned mighty dome on the south-east side was never constructed, and the castle's character remains better preserved today.

When count August Johann died in 1894, Schloss Grafenegg was inherited by his daughter Marie Breunner-Enckevoirth (1856-1929), who was married to Viktor II, Duke of Ratibor and prince of Corvey (1847-1923). Since then the ducal house of Ratibor and Corvey ( Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst ) has been the owner of the castle, a branch of the princely house of Hohenlohe. The surname of the family changed when Viktor II's grandson, Franz-Albrecht (1920-2009), was adopted by princess Clementine von Metternich-Sandor and he took her name ( Metternich-Sandór ) instead. Grafenegg was not the main residence of the dukes of Ratibor, as their main houses were in Germany: Schloss Corvey in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schloss Rauden in Silesia (nowadays Rudy in Poland ). Between 1945 and 1955, the castle was heavily damaged by Russian occupying forces. Most of the furniture, art collection and library was either stolen, burned or destroyed. With help of the Austrian Federal and Lower Austria governments, Franz-Albrecht started restoration works in 1967. Also, he made he castle accessible to the general public.

In 1294, a small settlement named Espersdorf was mentioned for the first time on the current site of Schloss Grafenegg. At these times, there were only a mill and a farmstead. After 1435, the site was surrounded by a ring wall and a moat. It received the name Grafenegg in the second half of the 15th century, when it came into possession of its namesake Ulrich von Grafenegg. It passed to Holy Roman emperor Frederick III in 1477. His son, emperor Maximilian I sold it to Heinrich Prüschenk, whose son Johann I Count Hardegg reconstructed the castle around 1500. The slender tower in the east wing dates from this late gothic period. In 1536, Bernhard I Thurzó acquired the castle and the lordship of Grafenegg. He had the portal to east tower constructed in Renaissance style in 1538. Also, he founded the Grafenegger branch of the Thurzó family, which died out with his son Bernhard II in 1596. The castle was inherited by his daughter Benigna, who was married to Martin von Starhemberg.

After several changes of ownership, Johann Baptist Verda von Verdenberg, chancellor and confidant of emperor Ferdinand II and his son emperor Ferdinand III, had the complex converted into a fortified palace between 1622 and 1633. At the four corners of the castle, surrounded by walls and a moat, so-called rampart houses were built, which still exist today. During the Thirty Years' War, these were used to set up artillery pieces. Nevertheless, the castle was still taken by Swedish troops in 1645 and temporarily occupied. In the course of the reconstruction work, a chapel was completed in the north wing in 1633, which was dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

From the Verdenberg family, the castle and its estates passed to the Counts of Enckevort and subsequently to the Counts of Breuner. Count August von Breuner-Enckevoirt (1796-1877) inherited Schloss Grafenegg in 1813. He and his son August Johann (1828-1894) reconstructed the castle between 1840 and 1888 in the spirit of romantic historicism with help of father and son Leopold and Hugo Ernst. Leopold Ernst was also the master builder of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. They fully redesigned the castle into its current form. The Breuner counts lost a large part of their fortune during the financial crisis of 1873. As a result, a planned mighty dome on the south-east side was never constructed, and the castle's character remains better preserved today.

When count August Johann died in 1894, Schloss Grafenegg was inherited by his daughter Marie Breunner-Enckevoirth (1856-1929), who was married to Viktor II, Duke of Ratibor and prince of Corvey (1847-1923). Since then the ducal house of Ratibor and Corvey ( Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst ) has been the owner of the castle, a branch of the princely house of Hohenlohe. The surname of the family changed when Viktor II's grandson, Franz-Albrecht (1920-2009), was adopted by princess Clementine von Metternich-Sandor and he took her name ( Metternich-Sandór ) instead. Grafenegg was not the main residence of the dukes of Ratibor, as their main houses were in Germany: Schloss Corvey in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schloss Rauden in Silesia (nowadays Rudy in Poland ). Between 1945 and 1955, the castle was heavily damaged by Russian occupying forces. Most of the furniture, art collection and library was either stolen, burned or destroyed. With help of the Austrian Federal and Lower Austria governments, Franz-Albrecht started restoration works in 1967. Also, he made he castle accessible to the general public.

The 19th century conversion by the architects Leopold and Hugo Ernst left the nucleus of the existing building almost fully intact. However, they gave the castle exterior a completely different impression by adding stepped gables, arcades and facade decoration in a neo-gothic Tudor style. Ludwig Wächtler was responsible for the interior decoration, which was largely in Renaissance Revival architecture. The closed complex consists of four wings arranged around an inner courtyard. Starting from the north wing, the conversion progressed counterclockwise in the 19th century.

From the north, one enters Schloss Grafenegg over the castle bridge through the neo-gothic gate building. The bridge dates from 1857 and is decorated with coat of arms. The gate building was constructed between 1856 and 1858. Directly above the entrance, under a canopy, a knight statue, dating from 1856, depicts the builder, Count August Ferdinand Breuner-Enckevoirt. After the gate, you walk through a rib vault from the early 16th century, which runs at a slight angle to the bridge, and leads into the castle courtyard. Even before the courtyard, you reach the castle chapel on the left and the main staircase on the right.

Construction of the palace chapel to the east of the north wing started in 1846 and was inaugurated in 1853. It has a radiant color ( polychrome ) and contains a late Gothic winged altarpiece from 1491, whose shrine figures represent the Coronation of the Virgin. The south wall of the chapel courtyard - between the entrance and the chapel - shows the coats of arms of all Grafenegg owners up to Count August Ferdinand Breuner-Enckevoirt.

The main staircase, which was largely completed in 1851, is located in the western part of the north wing. The staircase of Strawberry Hill House near Twickenham served as example. The figure of a knight on the lowest base of the parapet embodies the ideal of the builder. He is immortalized in a portrait bust, with a purse in his hand. The person opposite shows the master builder Leopold Ernst with a blueprint and compass.

On the upper floor, there is the knight's hall, completed in 1851, the showpiece of the castle, so to speak, in which the most precious materials - various woods, leather, marble and metal - were processed. Several suits of armor (not preserved) were placed around a central chimney. The knight's hall has a remarkable coffer ceiling and three courtyard-side bay windows with coat of arms panes in the glazing. Today's murals show secular and spiritual figures from the House of Habsburg.

To the west is the 'Wappenstube', which was probably completed in the late 1850s. On the wooden ceiling it shows the coats of arms of 128 ancestors of Countess Agathe Maria Breuner, who was married in 1855 to August Johann Breuner, the client's son.

On the west side of the castle, there is a monumental loggia, which was completed in 1863. A few years later, it was decorated with cheerful ceiling paintings and grotesque console figurines. The main tower from 1861 is crowned with so-called bartizans. It is located in front of the west wing towards the castle courtyard. It forms a strong contrast to the slender late Gothic tower opposite on the east side of the castle courtyard.

All rooms on the main floor in the west wing are lavishly decorated; different veneers, carved ornaments and figurative details result in a magnificent overall effect. With the exception of the loggia, every room has a colorful historicist tiled stove.

In the north-west corner of the complex are the dining room and large salon – also known as the corner salon – with hammer-beam ceilings based on the English model, which are among the highest artistic achievements of historicism in Austria. In the large salon, the beam heads of the colorful ceiling are alternately decorated with knights and angels.

In the middle of the west wing are the rooms designed in 1866, the Yellow Salon (or Ladies' Salon), the Toilet Room (or Small Salon) and the Bathroom. The designs for the bedroom and the count's writing room in the south-west corner, known as the Blue Salon because of the wall painting, date from 1864. This is equipped with particularly magnificent wall paneling.

These parts were not redesigned until 1887-1888, with the outside front on the east going back to the 16th century essentially unchanged, with the exception of the projecting chancel of the castle chapel. The garden hall was built by Hugo Ernst in the south-east corner, while the three-room library in the east wing was redesigned in baroque revival style.