Top 20 Castles around Maria Saal

It takes about 1 hour to visit the museum. We found the entrance fee too high for what was offered. But everyone can decide for themselves 😉.

Still worth seeing even after the renovation.

The most coveted spot on Lake Wörthersee is undoubtedly the Maria Loretto peninsula in Klagenfurt's eastern bay. This magical place manages to bridge the gap between pristine nature and opulent festivities. Anyone who has experienced the Lendspitz nature reserve or witnessed the breathtaking view from Maria Loretto Castle will fall in love with this narrow gem forever. Whether it's a photo spot for a wedding or pure romance away from the crowds – everyone can escape the everyday here. Its high recreational value makes this peninsula the place to be! Anyone who has experienced the Lendspitz nature reserve or seen the breathtaking view from Maria Loretto Castle will fall in love with this narrow gem forever.

In this place, you can let go of time. Not because it passes too quickly, but because it ceases to be important. On the Maria Loretto peninsula, the world seems to whisper instead of speak. The water sparkles as reliably as an old poem that you want to reread again and again. Palm trees and plane trees share the view of the shore, while the castle stands discreetly in the background – as if it knew its impact and no longer needed to prove it. Here, you take off your shoes because the gravel path suggests it. You sit down on a marble bench, perhaps drink a glass of wine in the shade of the linden trees, or simply dip your feet in the turquoise water. And suddenly you understand why people used to build avenues to the lake: not out of a desire for representation, but to create a dignified path to happiness. If you're in a hurry, it's best to stay outside. If you have the heart for it, you can enter.

The fortifications of the Burgweg with 14 large gate structures leading in several turns through the rocky terrain to the top are characteristic and interesting from a fortress point of view. This road overcomes deeper rock notches at a moderate incline, occasionally leads along carved rock walls or widens to weapon sites until it reaches the main castle. A second approach, called the Narrensteig, leads up the steep, rocky western slope, is partly carved into the rock and leads into the castle without touching the gates of the main path. This access was blocked off by a defensive transverse wall erected at the lowest part with a few additions that no longer exist today. Both defensible approaches existed in earlier times, as reported by the 13th-century chronicler Unrest. Due to its age, the castle can be found both as a medieval fortress and as a fortress in the modern sense. A document from 1388 mentions the original design, consisting of a square tower or keep, the adjoining living quarters (palas), the small castle chapel and protective walls with battlements (wintperge) and embrasures, when the crossbow was still the main weapon. The actual core of the complex, the stronghold, is an independent defense body that includes older parts. The gates, partly in red sandstone, partly in green chlorite slate and enriched with white limestone or marble, are noteworthy as Mannerist architecture.

The beautifully renovated Taggenbrunn Castle regularly hosts the Taggenbrunn Festival, one of the most renowned cultural festivals in Carinthia. André Heller also curated the exhibition "Zeiträume" (Time Spaces), which is absolutely worth seeing. More information is available at https://www.taggenbrunn.at/de/.

Beautifully redesigned castle 👍 https://www.taggenbrunn.at/

Taggenbrunn was first mentioned in 1142. The ruins of a hilltop castle have been renovated since 2011.