Schloss Trautenfels

Trautenfels Castle (German: Schloss Trautenfels) is a palace located in the district of Liezen in Styria. It lies directly on the Enns at 673m in the municipality Pürgg-Trautenfels on a cliff protrusion at the foot of the Grimming.

The first documented mention of a construction at the crossroads of the Salzstrasse with the stretch through the Ennstal Valley dates from 1260 to 1262. The medieval construction served as a dam until the 16th century and was known as the Neuhaus. Most notable among the 16th century accouterments are the Renaissance frescoes. They were likely created by a northern Italian artist on the occasion of the then owner, Ferdinand Hoffman's, wedding to Margarete von Harrach in 1563. The Styrian provincial governor, Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff acquired the castle in 1664. He had the building renovated and expanded into a palace after the fashion of the Baroque between 1670 and 1672 and at this time it was given the name, Schloss Trautenfels.

The mighty rectangular construction with (roofed) courts and a high tower accommodates a significant interior decoration (1670 to 1673) with frescoes by Carpoforo Tencalla in the first floor. The free standing castle chapel as well as five bastions are also worth mentioning.

After passing through numerous owners, the palace was bought by Josef Count Lamberg in 1878. After the Second World War the Styrian Youth Hostel Association (Jugendherbergswerk) acquired the palace and managed it until 1983. At this time the palace came into the possession of the municipality of Pürgg-Trautenfels and the state of Styria. Its renovation and the revitalization for use as a museum occurred from 1988 to 1992 based on plans by the architect, Manfred Wolff-Plottegg. In 1992, the Steierische Landesausstellung (Styrian Provincial Exhibition) took place here. Today the palace is home of the Regional Landscape Museum of the Universalmuseum Joanneum.

The palace holds a permanent show collection of about 1000 exhibits dealing with both the natural and the cultural history of the Ennstal Valley as well as the Ausseerland region. In addition, the Antler Room of the Counts of Lamberg, the splendid Marble Hall and the richly decorated State Rooms are also open to visitors.

A few metres west of the palace on the same ridge lie the ruins of the Protestant church of Neuhaus.

Text adapted from “Trautenfels Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Schloss Trautenfels ranks #3,214 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #82 of the 200 mapped in Austria. Founded 1672, it is older than 25% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,436 times in the last 60 days, more than 58% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Salzburg, 84 km away. See how Austria compares in the castle statistics.

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