Schloss Ort

There are two castles at Ort: the Landschloss on the shore and the Seeschloss on a small island a hundred and thirty metres out, connected to it by a wooden footbridge. The island castle is the older, going back to around 1080, with a courtyard of arcades and a chapel, and it took its present form in the sixteenth century. It belonged for a time to Johann Salvator of Habsburg, who renounced his titles as Johann Orth and vanished at sea off Cape Horn in 1890 in circumstances never resolved. The bridge and the setting - a small castle standing in water under wooded hills - made it the location for a long-running Austrian television series, which is why coach parties come. The courtyard is open, with a registry office, restaurant and concerts.

What you actually see

• A castle on a lake island - reached by a hundred and thirty metres of wooden bridge.
• An arcaded courtyard - the sixteenth-century form over an eleventh-century core.
• The Johann Orth story - the Habsburg who renounced his titles and disappeared in 1890.
• A television location - the reason for much of the coach traffic.

When to go

April to October. Two hours.

Honest expectations

Only the courtyard and chapel are generally open; the rooms are used for weddings and events. It is small - an hour covers it. The bridge and courtyard get very crowded with tour groups.

Nearby

Gmunden town and the Traunsee steamers are alongside; the Traunstein rises opposite.