Castle Eggenberg (Austria) is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and beautiful places in Europe. Tourists are attracted here by the amazing castle halls and the magnificent park at the palace. Eggenberg Castle is located on Austrian soil, 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. All twelve months, and seasons, and all 365 days of the year, and even hours and minutes live here. Count Eggenberg, in honor of his 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, as well as with the time of the most important scientific discoveries, when all Europeans were looking for truth and meaning in everything. Everyone found the truth in something of their own. Eggenberg found it in architecture, and this castle appeared.
General information
Eggenberg Castle is located just west of Graz and is located on a hilly area.
Castle-Palace Eggenberg is one of the pearls of Styria, as well as the whole country. UNESCO listed the castle as a World Heritage Site.
Historical background
The area on which the castle is located was acquired by B althazar Egenberg in the middle of the fifteenth century, then the first buildings appeared. But the palace in its present form saw the light under Prince Hans Ulrich von Egenberg, the grandson of B althazar. Hans Ulrich decided to reconstruct the castle - all the previous buildings in the Gothic style were converted into the original Baroque building. Such a project greatly reduced the cost of construction and preserved memorable details about the ancestors. Work on the new building was started in 1625. The architect was an architect from Italy - Giovanni de Pomisa.
The construction of the castle was completed in 1646. B althazar commissioned over 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, who owned it until 1939.
Appearance
Castle Eggenberg is not like the buildings created in the Renaissance. There is no pretentiousness, luxury in this palace. It is made in simple forms, thanks to which its personality is emphasized.
The architect who built the castle knew about Hans Ulrich's passion for astrology, and therefore the palace complex was designed in the spirit of the Renaissance. In addition to the house, the castle complex included a chapel made in the Gothic style and erected during the lifetime of the prince's ancestors.
The castle is a miniature model of the Universe: 4 high towers located on the sides are symbols of the seasons of the year, 52 are lowthe turrets symbolize the number of weeks in a year, the 24 outbuildings symbolize the number of hours in a day, the 12 gates symbolize the number of months, and the number of days in a year is reflected through the palace's 365 windows.
Based on the idea of the architect, the castle complex should serve as a reminder of the passage 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 definitely fall into each of its windows.
Interiors
This theme does not end on the exterior, it goes into the interior of the palace. The zodiac constellations are painted on the walls of the ceremonial hall, and the system of planets is depicted on the ceiling. Due to these features, this room was called the "Planet Room".
The interior of the castle easily combines two styles: baroque, whose features are grandiosity, pomp and intensity of feelings, and rococo, elegant, but not deep in its content.
Today, archaeological expositions are held in many rooms of the castle. The main exhibit of the museum objects is the Stretweg wagon, the creation of which is determined by the VI century BC. This wagon was once used in religious ceremonies.
Modernity
The design of all the lower rooms, which dates back to the 18th century, has almost completely survived to this day. There is a magnificent collection of paintings on the castle ceilings.
Castle Eggenberg (Styria) mainly exists at the moment as a museum. Here you can see in addition tomagnificent works of art and a museum of hunting, and a collection of archaeological valuable finds. Walks in the beautiful palace park are 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 mesmerizing places, beautiful small ponds and amazing beauty of plants, and the free movement of peacocks in the park area will impress children and animal lovers.
Also one of the valuable attractions that the Eggenberg Castle Palace in Austria is very proud of is the huge numismatic collection, which acts as the second collection in Austria in terms of its size and content. This collection includes over 70 thousand unique exhibits.
It is interesting that the image of the Eggenberg Palace-Castle can be found on modern ten euro coins. 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 mintage is only 200 thousand copies.
Entertainment program of the complex
In spring and summer, the entire palace park is immersed in flowers and music. This show is simply amazing! Jazz and classical music festivals are also often held here. And connoisseurs of chamber music can listen to it by candlelight in the castle halls with pleasure.
