Kreuzenstein Castle

There was a real castle here, destroyed by Swedish troops in 1645 and left as rubble. What stands now was built between 1874 and 1906 by Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek, who set out to construct a medieval castle using authentic salvaged material - he bought Gothic and Romanesque doorways, windows, vaults, panelling, furniture and armour from demolished buildings across Europe and had them assembled here into a coherent whole. So the parts are genuine and the building is not, which makes it a peculiar object: a nineteenth-century idea of the Middle Ages made of actual Middle Ages. Wilczek also fitted it with modern plumbing and heating. It is still owned by the family, shown by guided tour, and hosts falconry displays and film shoots.

What you actually see

• Genuine fragments, false castle - real Gothic material assembled around 1900.
• Salvaged interiors - doorways, vaults, panelling and furniture bought across Europe.
• An armoury and chapel - fitted out from the same collecting campaign.
• Falconry displays - flown in the castle grounds in season.

When to go

April to October; closed over winter. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a reconstruction, not a surviving castle - visitors expecting authenticity are sometimes disappointed. Access is by guided tour only, mainly in German. A walk up from the car park.

Nearby

Korneuburg and the Danube are south; Vienna is half an hour away.