Achau Castle

Aichovve is first mentioned in a document in 1170. An Elbewin de Aichawe appears in 1182. From 1352, the Langholz family named themselves after Achau. They owned the lordship as a free property.

In 1407, the Ebersdorfers resided here, but Achau seems to have already been under princely rule at this time. In the 15th century, the lordship was divided into two. Among the feudal tenants, each owning half of the castle, were the Counts of Schaunberg, Hans von Ebersdorf, the Viennese patrician Simon Pöttl, and the Lords of Rappach. In 1462, Georg von Vöttau seized the castle, but it was devastated in the same year by the "Hungarian Brothers". In 1484, the troops of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus conquered it.

After their withdrawal, Achau belonged half to the Lords of Rappach and half to the Khienberger family. The still medieval castle passed through many hands until the first half of the 17th century and was poorly maintained. This only changed when it was taken over by the Counts Groppler von Troppenburg in 1623. Ulrich Graf Groppler is presumed to be the builder of the current castle.

In 1732, Achau came into the possession of the Barons von Moser. They undertook major renovations in 1840. They kept the castle until the end of the 19th century. The current owner family, the Barons von Suttner, followed. During the occupation of Austria by the German Reich, the castle was expropriated. In the last days of World War II, it was in the combat zone. It was first set on fire and then devastated by Russian soldiers. When the Suttner family got their castle back after the war, it was a ruin and uninhabitable. Subsequently, it was decided to rebuild the moated castle, with slight modifications.