Kirchstetten Castle

Kirchstetten Castle is a castle in the village of Kirchstetten, in the municipality of Neudorf bei Staatz.

The mighty core building dates from the 16th century and was originally a four-winged complex, surrounded by a water-filled moat, fortified with walls and small outworks. In 1723, the imperial physician Matthias von Suttner acquired Kirchstetten Castle. He had the castle rebuilt in Baroque style according to plans by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach. The U-shaped complex is open to the east, and the extensive park is also located to the east.

The highlight of the castle is the Fest-Maulbertsch Hall, named after the creator of the ceiling fresco Franz Anton Maulbertsch, who created his most important early work "The Triumph of Truth over Time" for Kirchstetten between 1750 and 1752. On the end walls of the hall are two large-format portraits of the Suttner family by the Rococo painter Franz Anton Palko.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bertha von Suttner also visited her relatives at Kirchstetten Castle several times. After 1945, the Suttner family left the castle, and the building remained uninhabited and unused for decades. During a burglary in 1975, the weapon collection, parts of the furniture, and the altar painting by Kremser Schmidt from the castle chapel were stolen.

Between the castle and the castle park, an investment company began to build a thermal bath with a spa hotel. However, the company went bankrupt and left behind a shell building.