20 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Lower Austria

Aggstein Castle is a ruined castle on the right bank of the Danube in Wachau, Austria. The castle dates to the 12th century. Aggstein Castle is 480 metres above sea level. It is some 150 metres long and has a rock structure at both ends. The ruins are located within the municipality of Schönbühel-Aggsbach in the Melk District of Lower Austria.

Hardegg Castle is a hilltop castle in the town of Hardegg in the Thaya Valley in Lower Austria. This Castle is one of the mighties and best mantained in Lower-Austria. Its Museum about Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, the outdoor kitchen, the cosy furnished winter kitchen, the romanic as well as romantic chapel and the mighty eastern Tower are real musts.

Burg Rappottenstein is a castle in Rappottenstein, Lower Austria, Austria. The castle lies in the heart of the extensive Kuenring land holdings, serving as a stable anchor in turbulent times. It also protected the ancient route from the Danube across the Nordwald and on toward Bohemia.

Seebenstein Castle is in Seebenstein , Lower Austria . The hilltop castle consists of two systems, the old part with a round keep and a dilapidated palace from the 13th/14th centuries. Century and the high castle from the 15th to 17th century. The latter houses an important collection of weapons and medieval art, including a sculpture of the Virgin Mary by Veit Stoss . A Madonna by Tilman Riemenschneider was sold. There is a chapel in a corner of the high castle .

Burgruine Dürnstein is a ruin of a castle in Lower Austria, Austria. The castle was erected in the early 12th century at the behest of Hadmar I of Kuenring. The castle is known for being one of the places where King Richard I of England, returning from the Third Crusade, was imprisoned after being captured near Vienna by Duke Leopold V of Austria, from December 1192 until his extradition to Emperor Henry VI in March 1193.

The ruins of Falkenstein Castle is in the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria, about 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of Vienna near the border to Czech Republic. The castle was used as a "Reichsfeste", for the protection of the HRE Reich with an overview over nearly all of Moravia. It was founded around 1050 by Emperor Henry III. During the summer season, the inner ward is turned into an impressive site for medieval feasts and theatre plays.

The Rauhenstein castle ruins are the ruins of a hilltop castle in the Helenental north-east of the Schwechat , in the local area of Baden near Vienna . Like the neighboring Rauheneck castle ruins , it was probably built in the 12th century by the Tursen knights. It was repeatedly inhabited by robber barons and often destroyed and rebuilt.

Liechtenstein Castle is very different from other Austrian castles and palaces. It is Austria's only ancestral castle of a ruling dynasty. It is privately owned and It is on the edge of the Wienerwald. Today, the castle hosts the Nestroy Theatre Festival, which is held annually during the summer months. The 1969 film A Walk with Love and Death, the 1971 film The Vampire Happening, the 1979 film The Fifth Musketeer, and the 1993 film The Three Musketeers featured shots of the castle.

The Hussar Temple is a classical building on the Kleiner Anninger in the Föhrenberge Nature Park in the municipality of Mödling . The temple is one of the many artificial ruins built in the perimeter of Liechtenstein Castle , the seat of the Liechtensteiners at the time.Today's massive successor building was built in 1813 by Joseph Kornhäusel as a "temple of war glory" . It is dedicated to the dead of the Battle of Aspern. The tombs inside contain the bodies of five soldiers from that battle.

The picturesque Kreuzenstein Castle stands on a wooded hill directly above the village of Leobendorf. Its majestic position at 266 meters above sea level, in the immediate vicinity of the confluence of the Danube and the Vienna Woods, made the castle a mighty strategic fortification in previous centuries and especially in the Middle Ages. The castle can be considered both a 'neo-' and 'original' medieval structure. The castle is sometimes used as a location for films.

The Kunsthalle Krems-Stein in Stein an der Donau is an international exhibition center in Lower Austria, which was built from 1992 to 1995 according to the plans of the architect Adolf Krischanitz in the former tobacco factory of the Tabakregie in the Stein district. From June 2016 to July 2017, the Kunsthalle was temporarily closed as it underwent a 3.5 million euro general renovation and reopened on July 1, 2017. The Minorite Church , among other things, served as an alternative quarters .

Landesgalerie Niederösterreich is a cultural institution of the State of Lower Austria in Krems - Stein . It is located in the Kunstmeile Krems, in close proximity to the Kunsthalle Krems , the Krems Caricature Museum , the Forum Frohner and the Steiner Minoritenkirche. It combines the holdings of the State Collections of Lower Austria with important private collections and responds to contemporary issues with themed and personal exhibitions.

Laxenburg Castle Park is among the most significant historical landscaped gardens in Europe. The castles became a Habsburg possession in 1333 and formerly served as a summer retreat, along with Schönbrunn palace, for the imperial Habsburg dynasty. Blauer Hof Palace was the birthplace of some members of the royal family, including Crown Prince Rudolf. Another castle nearby is named Franzensburg castle.

Rosenburg is a castle in the municipality Rosenburg-Mold, Lower Austria. It is one of Austria's most visited Renaissance castles situated on a cliff above the valley of the River Kamp. It os one of the iconic attraction in this area and also it is attracted by many tourists by its vast history.

Schallaburg Castle is a 1,000-year-old architectural piece of art that has countless exciting stories to tell. The castle is combination of a Romanesque residential castle and a Gothic chapel, patterned in the Italian Renaissance style. Aesthetically built, it has a well-decorated two-storied arcaded court with elegant cantilevered staircases and a courtyard. The fortified building survived almost unchanged for a millennium.

Schloss Eckartsau is a castle converted into a hunting lodge in Eckartsau not far from the Donauauen in Marchfeld , Lower Austria. The original castle was a four-sided moated castle. The castle, which is now in the Donau-Auen National Park , thus became the property of the Republic of Austria, managed by the Austrian Federal Forests .As a museum, the castle has also been awarded the museum seal of approval. The Marchfeld castles also include Niederweiden Castle and Hof Castle .

Mayerling Castle was a hunting lodge in Mayerling near Alland in Lower Austria , southwest of Vienna , until 1889 . Today it houses the Carmelite St. Joseph of the Discalced Carmelites. After the death of the heir to the Austrian throne Rudolf and his mistress, the building turned into a monastery. On that place where the couple had died the church depicted above has been erected.

Niederweiden Castle is a baroque castle in Engelhartstetten im Marchfeld in the district of Gänserndorf. It combines the Baroque desire for prestige and rustic comfort in a harmonious manner. Like Hof Castle, Niederweiden Castle was once the property of Prince Eugene before being acquired by Empress Maria Theresa.

Schloss Schönbühel is a castle in the Lower Austrian town of Schönbühel-Aggsbach, below Melk on the right bank of the Danube. It was built on rock approximately 40 metres above the level of the river Danube. The castle was briefly owned by Conrad von Eisenbeutel, and then by the Abbey of Melk. In 1396 it was sold to the brothers Caspar and Gundaker von Starhemberg. It remained in the Starhemberg family for more than 400 years, but fell into disrepair.

A majestic castle near the Wachau valley in Lower Austria, in the community of Artstetten-Pöbring. Formerly used as a summer residence by members of the Habsburg dynasty, the castle is now the final resting place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife Sophie. It also houses the Archduke Franz Ferdinand Museum.