Weitra Castle

Weitra Castle is located in Weitra in the Lower Austrian Waldviertel region.

Original Castle Complex

The castle, like the town of Weitra, was founded between 1201 and 1208 by Hadmar II of Kuenring. Heinrich V of Kuenring, Marshal of Austria since 1274, who rebelled against Rudolf I, fled to Weitra.

After the Battle of Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen, Weitra was besieged by Stephan of Maissau, during which the Kuenringers lost control of Weitra. It was confiscated by Rudolf I, whose sons briefly re-granted it to Leuthold of Kuenring.

The castle was frequently besieged in wars, such as by the Hussites in 1426 and 1431, or the Hungarians in 1486. In 1508, the lordship was pledged to Laslav of Prague, Baron of Windhag. In 1582, Rudolf II gifted the castle and town of Weitra to his chamberlain Wolf Rumpf, Baron of Wullroß. Wolf Rumpf's widow Maria, née Countess Arco, married Count Friedrich of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg († 1617), to whom she bequeathed the former castle, by then converted into a Renaissance palace, and the town of Weitra.

Current Palace

Since 1606, Weitra has thus been in the possession of the Counts of Fürstenberg (Swabian noble family)#Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg. The construction of the preserved Renaissance palace took place directly over the original castle complex towards the end of the 16th century, based on plans from 1588 by Pietro Ferrabosco. The castle was unsuccessfully besieged by Swedish troops in 1645. After several fires, Baroque and Rococo elements were added.

When the Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg line died out in 1716, Weitra Castle finally passed in 1744 to Landgrave Ludwig, the younger brother of Prince Joseph Wilhelm Ernst zu Fürstenberg-Stühlingen. Landgrave Ludwig († 1759) founded the line of the Landgraves of Fürstenberg-Weitra, which after his death split into the two lines of Weitra and Taikowitz. Cardinal Friedrich Egon von Fürstenberg († 1892) emerged from the Weitra line.

During World War II, the castle complex suffered severely from destruction by devastating Soviet occupation troops. Due to its close proximity to the Iron Curtain and the structural weakness of the surrounding area, it fell into disrepair. On the occasion of the Lower Austrian State Exhibition in 1994, the castle was renovated by Johannes Prince zu Fürstenberg and made accessible to the public. Since 2006, the Schloss-Weitra-Festival, founded by Felix Dvorak, has taken place in the castle's covered and heated inner courtyard. This venue is also used for various other events. The brewery museum and the permanent exhibition on the Iron Curtain are of interest.