Eggenberg Castle in Austria

The castle of Eggenberg (Austria) is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and beautiful places in Europe. Tourists here are attracted by amazing castle halls and a magnificent park at the palace. The castle of Eggenberg is located on Austrian land, in the west of Graz, at the base of Mount Plabuch.

The history of the creation of this wonderful castle resembles a real fairy tale. Here live all twelve months, and seasons, and all 365 days of the year, and even hours with minutes. Count Eggenberg in honor of the appointment to an important post decided to create the most amazing castle.

The time of the appearance of the structure coincides with the change of calendars, and also with the time of the most important scientific discoveries, when all Europeans sought truth and meaning in everything. Everyone has found the truth in something of his own. Eggenberg found it in architecture, and this castle appeared.

general information

The castle of Eggenberg is located just west of Graz and is located on a hilly terrain.

The castle-palace of Eggenberg is one of the pearls of Styria, as well as of the entire country. UNESCO has made the castle a World Heritage Site.

Historical reference

The area on which the castle is located was acquired by Baltazar Eggenberg in the middle of the fifteenth century, when the first buildings appeared. But the palace in its current form was published under Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg, the grandson of Balthazar. Hans Ulrich decided to reconstruct the castle - all the previous buildings in the Gothic style were converted into an original Baroque building. Such a project greatly reduced the cost of construction and preserved memorable details about the ancestors. The work on the new construction was started in 1625. The architect was the architect from Italy - Giovanni de Pomisa.

The construction of the castle was completed in 1646. Balthazar ordered more than 600 paintings for the palace, most of which have survived to this day.

After the Eggenbergs, the castle fell into the hands of the Herberstein family, which owned it until 1939.

Appearance

The castle of Eggenberg is not like the buildings created in the Renaissance. In this palace there is no pretentiousness, splendor. It is made in simple forms, thanks to which its individuality is emphasized.

The architect who built the castle knew about Hans Ulrich's fascination with astrology, and therefore the palace complex was designed in the spirit of the Renaissance. In addition to the house in the castle complex there was a chapel made in the Gothic style and built during the lifetime of the prince's ancestors.

The castle is a miniature model of the universe: the four high towers on the sides are symbols of the seasons of the year, 52 low turrets symbolize the number of weeks in a year, 24 subsidiary rooms - the number of hours in a day, 12 gates - the number of months, and the number of days in a year It is reflected with the help of 365 windows of the palace.

Proceeding from the idea of the architect, the castle complex should serve as a reminder of the course of time, as well as symbolize the movement of stars in the sky. Another feature of the palace is that in one day the sun will necessarily fall into each of its windows.

Interiors

On the exterior, this subject does not end, it goes into the interior of the palace. On the walls of the ceremonial hall are painted zodiacal constellations, and on the plafond the system of planets is depicted. Thanks to these features, this room was called the "Room of the Planets".

The interior of the castle with ease combines two styles: Baroque, whose features are grandiosity, splendor and intensity of feelings, and rococo, elegant, but not deep in its content.

Today, in many rooms of the castle there are archaeological displays. The main exhibit of museum objects is the Stretweg Wagon, the creation of which is determined by the VI century BC. This wagon in its time was used in cult rites.

Modernity

Almost completely up to now, the design of all the lower rooms, which dates back to the 18th century, has been preserved. On the ceilings of the castle there is a magnificent collection of paintings.

The castle of Eggenberg (Styria) basically exists at the moment as a museum. Here you can see besides the magnificent works of art and the hunting museum, and a collection of archaeological valuable finds. Walking through the beautiful palace park is no less exciting. It was restored relatively recently and is rightfully considered the pearl of European park art. The park is full of romantic, fabulous and enchanting places, beautiful small ponds and amazing beauty of plants, and free movement of peacocks in the park zone will not leave indifferent children and animal lovers.

Also one of the valuable attractions, which is very proud of the castle-palace of Eggenberg in Austria, is a huge numismatic collection, serving as the second collection in Austria by its size and filling. This collection includes more than 70 thousand unique exhibits.

It is interesting that the image of the castle-castle Eggenberg can be found on modern coins with a denomination of ten euros. This coin was issued on October 9, 2002, and its series is referred to as "Austria and its people". The coin is made of silver, and its circulation is only 200 thousand copies.

Entertaining program of the complex

In the spring and summer time the entire palace park is buried in flowers and music. This spectacle is just great! Also often held here are festivals of jazz and classical music. And connoisseurs of chamber music can listen to it with candles in the castle halls with pleasure.