Description of the attraction
Orth Castle is located in the center of the Austrian city of Gmunden. Its distinctive feature lies in the fact that it consists of two powerful buildings at once, one of which is located in the middle of the deep Traunsee lake and is connected to the shore on which the other "wing" of the castle is located, only through one small wooden bridge. The castle is a symbol of the city and is very popular with tourists. He also became a kind of "protagonist" or, more correctly, the scene of the popular Austrian television series "Castle Hotel Ort".
Orth Castle is more than 1000 years old - the first structure appeared here in 909 or a little later. At the same time, it was the castle built on the water that appeared first, while the building on the shore of the lake was built much later - in 1634. During this long time, the palace changed many owners, among whom were also noticed the crowned persons - the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian kaisers, including the famous Franz Joseph I, the husband of the Empress Sisi. However, after the First World War, the castle fell into disrepair and was abandoned until the seventies. Now it has been completely restored. Part of the premises belongs to the Ministry of Forestry, and some rooms are open for tourists. And at the end of the 20th century, during the showing of a television series in which Orth Castle was featured as a hotel, it was decided to open a luxurious restaurant in this amazing building. Now, more than 360 weddings a year take place on the territory of the lake castle, that is, approximately one celebration a day. The oldest surviving detail of this part of the castle is a mechanical clock from the 17th century, which is still wound by hand.
As for the "coastal" part of the Orth castle, it consists of several buildings at once - the tower, the Church of St. James, and the barracks, where the museum now operates. The living quarters of the castle and the main hall, decorated with various coats of arms, are also open for tourist visits. The picturesque courtyard in the late Gothic style is worth mentioning separately. The buildings themselves were built in the 17th century, and the interior of the premises was decorated both in the same century and in later centuries. Especially notable are the luxurious stucco moldings of 1777, belonging to the Rococo era, and the canvases of the early 20th century.
