CASTLES ALTMÜNSTER

Ebenzweier Castle, located on Lake Traunsee in Altmünster within the Salzkammergut region, dates back to the 13th century and features Italian Renaissance influences acquired during Maximilian d'Este's ownership in the 19th century. The castle complex consists of two courtyards, with the completely rebuilt inner court and three-winged outer structure featuring a prominent 75-window façade facing the lake. Today, the restored castle operates as a catering and hospitality vocational school with boarding facilities, set within a expansive historic park. An engraving from 1674 documents the castle's centuries-old landscape design, featuring flower gardens, kitchen gardens, and orchards surrounding the structures.

Traunsee Castle, also known as Württemberg Castle, is a stunning neo-Renaissance villa constructed in the late 19th century on the shore of Lake Traun in Upper Austria's Salzkammergut. Duke Philipp of Württemberg commissioned the residence as a wedding gift to his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa, initially named Villa Maria Theresa as a peaceful retreat from Vienna's heat and dust. Distinguished architects shaped the castle: Heinrich Adam designed the main structure while Heinrich von Ferstel, architect of Vienna's Votive Church, created the elegant chapel. Though now owned by the Austrian state and functioning as a boarding school inaccessible to the public, the castle's imposing neo-Renaissance façade remains an iconic sight from the lake shore, perfectly reflecting the grandeur and refinement of Upper Austrian heritage.