Riegersburg - Town and Castle

55km/34mi east of Graz in the southeastern tip of Styria, on a basalt crag between Fürstenfeld and Feldbach, stands the mighty Riegersburg, one of the finest castles in the whole of Austria and never conquered by an enemy. The castle is first recorded in the 12th C. In the 13th C. there were two castles here on the plateau, to the north Burg Kronegg and to the south, lower down, Burg Leichtenegg, which was demolished in 1648. In the 16th C. the main castle was enlarged by Freiherr von Stadtl, and in 1637 it passed to the Wechsler family. Under Elisabeth von Wechsler, a popular and legendary figure in Styrian history, the castle had its greatest days as a frontier fortress against the Turks. In 1822 it passed into the possession of the Princes of Liechtenstein, who restored it. Visiting the Riegersburg

Coming from the town the castle is entered from the south, on a rocky path defended by seven gates and numerous bastions. Between the fourth and fifth gates, on the site of former Burg Liechtenegg, stands the Frontier Memorial, from which there is a good view. After passing the gabled Pyramidentor (Pyramid Gate) the visitor comes to the Wenzelstor (Wenceslas gate), with statues of Mars and Bellona, the gods of war; it forms part of the castle surround, with moat, drawbridge and magazine. Here the Eselsteig (Mule Steps) enters the castle; these steps, hewn out of the rock, enabled food and provisions to be brought into the castle by pack mule in times of need. The castle proper encloses two arcaded courtyards, in the inner one of which attention is drawn to a fountain with an artistically carved canopy. The furnishings of the handsome rooms dates from the 16th and 17th C.; in the Gothic chapel are two Baroque altars. The Knights' Hall has beautiful doorways, paintings and a coffered ceiling. The Fürstenzimmer (Prince's Room) and the Weisse Saal (White Hall) are also very fine.