Description of the attraction
Liechtenstein Castle is a medieval castle located near the town of Maria Enzersdorf south of Vienna, in the federal state of Lower Austria on the edge of the Vienna Woods. The name of the Liechtenstein family also originated from the name of the castle.
The castle was built in 1135 by order of Count von Liechtenstein. The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1330.
It is known that the castle changed owners frequently. At different times, the owners were: the Austrian Kevenhüller family, the Habsburgs, the Hungarian king Matthias. The Turks attacked the castle twice: in 1480, and then in 1529 during a campaign against Vienna. It was then that the castle was destroyed. It is known that for some time the castle remained in ruins, and then was rebuilt again due to the threat of a new attack by the Ottoman Empire. Just 5 years after the reconstruction, the castle was destroyed again.
In 1807, the castle was bought by Johann Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, who fought at Austerlitz. A full-scale large-scale restoration of the castle began only in 1890 under the leadership of a group of architects who took 13 years to complete the work.
However, the castle seemed to be pursued by an evil fate: it was again almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. In 1945, when Austria was divided by the allies (USSR, USA, France and Great Britain), Liechtenstein Castle was in the Soviet zone of influence.
In 1968, volunteers from the nearby town of Maria Enzersdorf took over the restoration of the castle. Soon after the reconstruction, the Principality of Liechtenstein decided to transfer the castle on a long-term lease to the city authorities, where, according to their decision, in 1983, the Nestroy Music Festival (a famous Austrian opera singer) began to be held. After the lease expired and the castle returned to the possession of the Principality, it has remained closed to visitors since 2009.
