Erko Castle

The Erko family, after whom the small castle is named, commissioned its construction in the 19th century on a hill in Brunn-Schaufel in the municipality of Krumegg. It was built near a medieval fortified structure, which no longer exists today, and which was endowed with a princely fiefdom and a castle peace. Around 1870, it was owned by the Barons von Lederer-Trattner. The German writer Nina d’Aubigny von Engelbrunner (1770-1847) moved to Erkoschlösschen in 1828 after the death of her nephews Eduard and Georg Horstig. She died in 1847 and was buried in the cemetery of the parish of Nestelbach bei Graz. Until a few years ago, the small castle also bore the nickname "Bethany Monastery". Erkoschlösschen was inhabited by the Dominican Sisters of Bethany from 1960 until it passed into private ownership a few years ago.