Schloss Lackenbach

The "newly built" Lackenbach Castle was first mentioned in 1553 in the purchase contract for the Landsee Government by Nikolaus Oláh, Archbishop of Gran. The noble residence was not only used for economic and administrative purposes, but also offered better living comfort thanks to its position on the plain compared to the nearby military castle of Landsee.

With the marriage of Count Nikolaus Esterházy to Ursula Dersfy, who had inherited the property of Archbishop Oláh, the Lackenbach / Landsee government came into possession of the aspiring young aristocrat in 1612. Until 1628 Lackenbach Castle was the main residence of the Esterházy family and, with the office of palatine, which Nicholas held from 1625, it was also the seat of the Hungarian viceroy.

In 1620 the palace was the scene of an extremely important family history and a politically significant event: the battle of Lackenbach: around the clashes between the imperial troops and the Transylvanian prince Gabor Bethlen, the troops also reached the possessions of Nikolaus Esterházy. An imperial relief army and the brave farmers of the Neckenmarkt came to his rescue as he and his men were besieged at Lackenbach Castle, but in the end it was the courageous failure of Nikolaus, loyal to the Habsburgs, who broke the siege and ended the hostility.

The architecture of the building follows the Renaissance idea of ​​a symmetrical division of the landscape. This is still evident today through the lines of the corridors, the avenues, the hedges, the ditches, the paths, as well as the surrounding walls and the arrangement of the trees in the orchards. It is unique in the state of conservation for a Renaissance complex; This also applies to the orchard lawn with ancient and very rare fruit trees from the 19th century and the "King's Hill" from the 17th century.