Ernstbrunn Castle, Ernstbrunn, Austria

Ernstbrunn castle became the seat of the Ernstbrunn branch of the Counts of Sinzendorf in 1592. After the last Sinzendorf died in 1822, it was inherited by the Köstritz branch of the ruling princely House of Reuss of whom it remains their main family seat until today.

The castle is an elongated structure with four ascending courtyards on the northern slope of the Semmelberg above Dörfles. The medieval core castle on the northern rocky spur was continuously expanded during the Late Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicism periods with new groups of buildings. The core castle, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries and surrounding the innermost courtyard, sits on a free-standing limestone rock on three sides, which drops steeply towards the village of Dörfles. It forms an elongated octagon. The wall thickness of the outer wall is up to three meters. It is further reinforced on the southeast by the square keep. Originally, this keep had only three floors but was extended by an additional floor in the 16th/17th century.

In front of the gate is an early Baroque fountain. This fountain has a total of 16 coat of arms representations, 4 at the top of the shaft below the fountain bowl and 12 in pairs around the edge of the hexagonal basin.

User Reviews

alex maier (3 months ago)
Bad castle, it's not a kilometer long as someone I know once said. Very disappointing ????

Varier (2 years ago)
Was ok. It's private property so you can just look at it and there isn't much to do around it

Markéta Kolaciová (2 years ago)
A smaller castle near the Wildpark ernstbrunn. But the castle is not available to the public. The adjacent park is also nice.

Paul Malacka (2 years ago)
An imposing building, partly renovated, is hidden away. From the street you can see a (partially) renovated dump box and then after a few minutes the castle with a forecourt with large old trees. On the way to the castle you pass stables with horses and Scottish Highland cattle. The castle seems quite large and you have a good view of Ernstbrunn. Various events take place in the castle. We will come again and want to see the inside.

Nastute K (3 years ago)
This is a private castle, no visits possible. But the park is beautiful.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright caminanteK

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