Gobelsburg Castle is not only an enchanting eye-catcher from the outside, but also has a lot to offer on the inside: huge wine barrels lie dormant in the cellar of this winery. It is also rented out as an event location.
The history of the castle is closely linked to that of Zwettl Abbey. Gobelsburg Castle was originally built as a defensive fortification in 1074 by the Kuenringer progenitor, Azzo von Gobatsburg, and was first mentioned in a Kuenringer document. After Zwettl Abbey was founded by his grandson Hadmar I von Kuenring in 1138, he equipped the abbey with vineyards in Gobelsburg.
Gobelsburg remained in the possession of the Kuenringers until 1314 and then passed into the possession of various landed aristocratic families.[1] In the 16th century, the fortress was converted into a four-winged complex in the Renaissance style. In 1693, it was inherited by Otto Ferdinand Baron von Hohenfeld. Otto Achaz Ehrenreich Graf Hohenfeld had the building rebuilt and given a baroque makeover by Joseph Munggenast in 1725.[2]
At that time, the castle was also known as "Ehrenreichsburg". It was probably intended as a hunting lodge, as indicated by the frequent use of hunting motifs in the stucco work and ceiling paintings as well as on the tiled stoves. His son Heinrich joined the Cistercian monastery of Zwettl and in 1740 sold him the already heavily indebted estate. In 1746 the castle became the administrative headquarters of the monastery.
After the First World War, an apprentices' home was set up in the building; it became increasingly neglected, and when French prisoners of war were housed there during the Second World War, it fell into complete disrepair. Floors were burned and the interior rooms devastated. After 1958 it was renovated under Father Bertrand Baumann, who was entrusted with the management of the estate. After the work was completed in 1966, it served as an outpost of the Austrian Museum of Folklore until the end of the 20th century, which set up a ceramics museum for its majolica collection.
Today, Gobelsburg Castle and its vineyards are used as a winery, which has been leased by the monastery since 1996. Part of the building is divided into apartments (Wikipedia).