Eggenberg Castle (Austria) is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and beautiful places in Europe. Tourists are attracted by amazing castle halls and a 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 the time of the most important scientific discoveries, when all Europeans searched 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.
Eggenberg Castle Palace is one of the pearls of Styria, as well as the whole country. UNESCO has made the castle a World Heritage Site.
Historical reference
The territory on which the castle is located was acquired by Balthazar Egenberg in the middle of the fifteenth century, then the first buildings appeared. But the palace in its current form saw the light under Prince Hans Ulrich von Egenberg, grandson of Balthazar. Hans Ulrich decided to reconstruct the castle - all the old buildings in the Gothic style were converted into the original Baroque building. Such a project greatly reduced the cost of construction and retained memorable details about the ancestors. Work on new construction was started in 1625. The architect was the architect from Italy - Giovanni de Pomisa.
The construction of the castle was completed in 1646. Balthazar ordered more than 600 paintings for the palace, most of which have survived to this day.
After the Eggenbergs, the castle fell into the power of the Herberstein family, which owned it until 1939.
Appearance
Eggenberg Castle is not like the buildings created in the Renaissance. In this palace there is no pretentiousness, luxury. It is made in simple forms, thanks to which its personality is emphasized.
The architect who built the castle knew about Hans Ulrich's fascination with 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 tall towers located on the sides are symbols of the seasons, 52 low towers symbolize the number of weeks in a year, 24 utility rooms - the number of hours in a day, 12 gates - the number of months, and the number of days in a year reflected through 365 palace windows.
Based on the idea of the architect, the castle complex should serve as a reminder of the passage of time, and also symbolize the movement of stars in the sky. Another feature of the palace is that in one day the sun will surely fall into each of its windows.
Interiors
On the exterior, this topic does not end, it goes into the interior of the palace. Zodiacal constellations are painted on the walls of the ceremonial hall, and the system of planets is depicted on the ceiling. Thanks to these features, this room is called the "Room of the Planets."
The interior of the castle easily combines two styles: baroque, whose features are grandeur, splendor and intensity of feelings, and rococo, elegant, but not deep in content.
Today, many rooms of the castle host archaeological exhibits. The main exhibit of museum objects is the Stretweg wagon, the creation of which is determined by the VI century BC. This wagon was once used in cult rites.
Modernity
Almost completely to this day, the design of all the lower rooms, which dates from the 18th century, has been preserved. On the ceilings of the castle there is a magnificent collection of paintings.
Eggenberg Castle (Styria) basically exists at the moment as a museum. Here you can see, in addition to magnificent works of art, a hunting museum and a collection of archeological valuable finds. Walking through the beautiful palace park is no less exciting. It was restored relatively recently and is considered to be the pearl of European park art. The park is full of romantic, fabulous and fascinating places, beautiful small ponds and amazing beauty of plants, and the free movement of peacocks in the park area will not leave indifferent children and animal lovers.
Also, one of the most valuable sights, which Eggenberg Castle Palace in Austria is very proud of, is the huge numismatic collection, which acts as the second collection in Austria in its size and content. This collection includes over 70 thousand unique exhibits.
Interestingly, the image of Eggenberg Palace and Castle can be found on modern coins with a face value of ten euros. 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 circulation is only 200 thousand copies.
Entertainment program of the complex
In spring and summer, the entire palace park is buried in flowers and music. This sight is simply magnificent! It also often hosts festivals of jazz and classical music. And connoisseurs of chamber music with pleasure can listen to it by candlelight in the castle halls.