Grafenegg Castle

Grafenegg is a moated medieval castle that Leopold Ernst von Ransonnet rebuilt between 1840 and 1873 for the Metternich-Sándor family into an extravagant piece of romantic historicism - turrets, oriels, gables and chimneys piled up in a manner drawn from English Tudor Gothic and Austrian late Gothic together, set in a landscape park of about thirty-two hectares planted with specimen trees. What it is now is a music venue: the Wolkenturm, a steel and concrete open-air stage shell designed by the Next Enterprise practice and opened in 2007, stands in the park, and a summer festival with major orchestras runs there and in the castle's own auditorium. On non-concert days the park is open for walking and the castle shows rooms and exhibitions.

What you actually see

• A historicist castle - turrets and gables piled up in the 1840s to 1870s rebuild.
• The Wolkenturm - the 2007 open-air concert shell standing in the park.
• A thirty-two hectare park - landscape planting with specimen trees.
• A summer music festival - orchestras playing outdoors and in the auditorium.

When to go

May to September; check the concert calendar. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Concert nights fill the roads and parking, and the park may be restricted. Outside the season the castle interior has limited opening. Open-air concerts move indoors in bad weather.

Nearby

Krems and the Wachau are west; the Kamptal wine villages are north.