Grafenegg Castle The castle is rich in historical evidence and its origins date back to 1435. From then on, it underwent several metamorphoses over the centuries until it finally became the Tudor-style castle that we see today. Count Breuner-Eckevoirt, a lover of architecture, had the Renaissance castle rebuilt in the 19th century in the style of romantic historicism. Today, the castle is owned by the Metternich-Sándor family, who have restored the castle with the support of the state of Lower Austria. Text / Source: Ticket office & Info Grafenegg, Auditorium, Grafenegg 10, 3485 Grafenegg grafenegg.com/de/schloss
In 1294 a small settlement called Espersdorf was first mentioned on the site of today's Grafenegg. At that time there was only a mill and a farm. After 1435 the farm was surrounded by a curtain wall and a moat. Already a sovereign fiefdom at the time, it came into the possession of its namesake Ulrich von Grafeneck in the second half of the 15th century and passed to Emperor Friedrich III in 1477. His son Maximilian I sold it to Heinrich Prüschenk, whose son Johann I, Count Hardegg, had the complex rebuilt around 1500. The slender tower on the east side dates from this late Gothic period. In 1536, Bernhard I Thurzo bought the Grafenegg castle and estate and had the portal to the east tower built in the Renaissance style in 1538. He founded the Grafenegger line of the Thurzo family, which died out with his son Bernhard II in 1596. Grafenegg falls to his daughter Benigna, wife of Martin von Starhemberg.
After several changes of ownership, Johann Baptist Verda von Verdenberg, chancellor and confidant of Emperor Ferdinand II and his son Ferdinand III, had the complex converted into a fortified castle between 1622 and 1633. So-called rampart houses were built at the four corners of the complex, which is surrounded by walls and a moat, and still exist today. During the Thirty Years' War these were used to set up guns, but in 1645 the castle was captured and temporarily occupied by Swedish troops. As part of the construction work, a chapel was completed in the north wing in 1633, which was dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity.
From the Verdenbergs, the rule passed by inheritance to the Counts Enckevort and subsequently to the Counts Breuner. Count August von Breuner-Enckevoirt (1796–1877) inherited it in 1813. Under him and his son August Johann (1828–1894), the castle was built between 1840 and 1888 in the spirit of romantic historicism by Leopold Ernst, who became the cathedral builder of St. Stephan was appointed in Vienna and his son Hugo Ernst was fundamentally redesigned, giving it its current form. During the Vienna stock market crash of 1873, the Counts of Breuner lost a large part of their fortune, meaning that the planned mighty dome in the southeast of the complex was no longer built, meaning that the character of the castle was better preserved.
After the male line of Counts Breuner died out, the castle fell to the Duke of Ratibor and Prince of Corvey, Victor II Amadeus, in 1894. Since then, the castle has been owned by the House of Ratibor, a branch of the House of Hohenlohe.[2] Between 1945 and 1955, the building structure was damaged by the Russian occupying forces and the furniture and parts of the books were stolen or burned. From 1967 onwards, the castle was restored and opened to the public with support from the state and federal government and the intensive commitment of the then rent master Gerhard Großberger and the owner Franz-Albrecht Metternich-Sándor (Wiipedia).