Hernstein Castle

Emerged from a manor farm, the castle received a uniform facade in the 18th century. Commissioned by Archduke Leopold Ludwig, the castle was rebuilt by Theophil von Hansen between 1856 and 1880 into one of the most significant historicist complexes. Although the redesign of the facades was completed after only two years, the interior furnishing took a long time, as it was also planned by Hansen as a total work of art. Hernstein served him as an experimental field for new ideas, which he then realized in his buildings on Vienna's Ringstrasse. The elaborate frescoes were created by the then most famous history painters Christian Griepenkerl, Eduard Bitterlich, August Eisenmenger and Carl Rahl. In 1945, the partially bombed-out castle was the seat of the Russian commander-in-chief. In 1955, the Erste Österreichische Sparkasse acquired the completely dilapidated castle and had the war damage repaired. In 1962, the castle was bought by the Chamber of Commerce for Vienna, restored and converted into a seminar center with a castle park and pond. In 1965, it was converted into a seminar hotel, the castle operates under the name Hernstein Institut, and since 2013 also Seminarhotel Schloss Hernstein.