Schloss Mailberg

Mailberg Palace stands on a rise at the southern edge of the historic centre of the wine village of Mailberg, northeast of Hollabrunn in the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria.

Mailberg Castle and Palace were the site of two important historical events. On 2 May 1082 the Babenberg duke Leopold II lost a decisive battle here against the emperor-loyal Bohemian prince Vratislav II. In 1451 the estates of Upper and Lower Austria, who were in dispute with Emperor Frederick III over the release of the heir to the throne, Ladislaus Posthumus, who was under his guardianship, met at the palace and concluded the League of Mailberg. Some 250 seals confirmed this alliance, formed to secure the rightful heir's claim.

The structural core of the palace goes back to a commandery castle of the Order of St John, probably built at the time of the Second Crusade (1147–1149) and founded on a donation by Chadolt von Zogelsdorf. From the 13th century the palace served as the religious, economic, military and hospital centre of the possessions grouped by the Order into the commandery of Mailberg, which today form the world's oldest commandery still held by the Order, now known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (the Catholic branch of the order).

The present appearance of the former commandery and of the parish church of St John the Baptist results from alterations and extensions ranging from the Gothic period through the Renaissance and, above all, the Baroque, to smaller changes in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The agricultural and forestry operation of the Mailberg commandery today comprises 440 ha of forest, 250 ha of farmland and 48 ha of vineyards. Besides the parish church of Mailberg, the palace currently houses a palace hotel, a restaurant, and the wine shop of the "Schlossweingut Malteser Ritterorden" and the quality winegrowers' association "Mailberg Valley".

Machine-translated from “Schloss Mailberg” on the German Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Schloss Mailberg ranks #6,189 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #172 of the 223 mapped in Austria. Founded 1146, it is older than 84% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 593 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Vienna, 53 km away. See how Austria compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia (in German) ↗