Riegersburg Castle

The first mention of Riegersburg dates, depending on the source, to 1212, when it was owned by the Counts of Hardegg, or to 1390, when a castle named Ruegers was cited. It is also mentioned in 1427 in connection with the Counts of Hardegg. In 1568, Sigmund Count of Hardegg acquired the property from the Eyczingers, who had owned it since 1441. He had the dilapidated castle demolished and a moated castle built in its place, serving as an administrative seat and residential home. His son, Johann Wilhelm von Hardegg, ran into financial difficulties himself by acquiring indebted lordships, which led to bankruptcy after his death in 1635. His heir, Julius von Hardegg, sold the counties of Riegersburg and Hardegg in 1656 to pay off the debts. The Counts of Saint-Julien acquired the estate and sold it in 1730 to Sigmund Friedrich von Khevenhüller. He found the castle in poor condition and had it rebuilt in its current form between 1730 and 1780 according to designs by Franz Anton Pilgram.