Schloss Kassegg: A Hunting Castle in Styria, Austria
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Austria
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Austria-Hungary, Habsburg
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page11 sections
History
Schloss Kassegg is a hunting castle in Austria, built around 1886 in the Gesäuse Mountains of Styria at the Erbsattel, between Grossreifling and Sankt Gallen. Its original design followed Romantic Historicism, a nineteenth-century approach that revived forms from earlier periods. The castle developed from a farm purchased by railway entrepreneur Georg Ritter von Aichinger, and its later history included aristocratic residence, confiscation under National Socialism, educational use, and repeated attempts to convert it into a hospitality establishment.
Construction and early alterations
Around 1885, Georg Ritter von Aichinger purchased a farm called “Kahsegger” at the Erbsattel. He was associated with the Crown Prince Rudolf Railway, a railway project that helped connect parts of the Habsburg lands. Extensive timber felling for the construction of Schloss Kassegg took place at Gstatterboden in 1886. The castle’s development and appearance have been compared with the romanticized castles commissioned by Ludwig II, the nineteenth-century king of Bavaria. A local tradition, which remains unconfirmed, attributes the design to a Munich architect who also took part in building Neuschwanstein Castle.
The west tower developed serious structural problems between 1899 and 1902 and was in danger of collapsing. A major rebuilding followed. The west wing was shortened, part of the tower was moved, and the castle chapel was removed. Eyewitness memories describe interruptions lasting several months while the owner and a Munich architect discussed details of the work.
Aristocratic ownership and the First World War aftermath
The ownership of Schloss Kassegg in 1911 is uncertain. It was probably acquired by Baron von Carg, although other evidence indicates that the von Aichinger family may have retained ownership until at least 1915. In 1918, Ottokar Count Czernin acquired the castle. Czernin was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and politician who had served as the monarchy’s foreign minister during the First World War. He withdrew to Schloss Kassegg after the Sixtus Affair, a failed attempt at secret peace contacts involving Emperor Charles I. His brother, the diplomat Otto Count Czernin, also used the property as a residence.
Confiscation and post-war changes
In 1938, the National Socialists confiscated Schloss Kassegg and placed it under the office of Hermann Göring, a leading National Socialist official who controlled major state, military, and forestry institutions. The Reich Forestry and Hunting Master was a senior office responsible for forestry and hunting administration. Until 1945, the castle served several purposes. For two years it housed children from Graz, and it also accommodated 200 Bukovina German settlers, members of the German-speaking population from the historical region of Bukovina who were brought into the German Reich. During this period, parts of the property stood empty and were looted.
In 1946, Count Czernin’s heirs recovered the empty and damaged castle, then sold it immediately to a Viennese property broker. Around 1948, the farmer Wörnschimmel acquired Schloss Kassegg together with the Bruckwirt Alm at the foot of the Tieflimauer. Gustav Franz de Paula Hoffmann purchased the estate in 1953 for 70,000 schillings. The purchase included about 4.5 hectares of land and an overgrown castle park.
School, holiday home, and hotel phases
From 1954 to 1964, Schloss Kassegg operated as a boarding school and special school on behalf of the Province of Upper Austria. It then became a children’s and youth holiday home, operating from 1964 to 1988 with 196 beds. Under Gustav and Gerlinde Hoffmann, the establishment recorded as many as 35,000 overnight stays annually and became a major tourism enterprise in the region. A private ski lift supported winter groups, including the European Schools from Brussels for more than 15 years.
The facade was renovated and redesigned in 1976. Wolfgang Hoffmann took over management of the holiday home from his parents in 1983. A general renovation and conversion for modern hotel use followed in 1988 and 1989. From 1989 to 1991, the property operated as the youth-oriented “Adventure and Fairy-Tale Club Schloss Kassegg.” Armin Leebmann of Rotthalmünster bought the castle in 1991 with the intention of creating a health resort, but Schloss Kassegg stood empty from 31 August of that year.
A further complete renovation began in 2004 and 2005 but remained unfinished despite an investment of 4.6 million euros. A proposed sanatorium for addiction treatment did not proceed because the required beds for a special medical institution were not provided, leaving the future of the castle uncertain in 2006. The property was offered for sale again in 2008. In 2011, it reopened as a three-star hotel for young people and families and was ceremonially reopened on 2 July as Natur Hotel Schloss Kassegg.
Remains
Building fabric and architectural character
Schloss Kassegg stands at the Erbsattel in the Gesäuse Mountains. The building was constructed entirely of brick, while the cellar and parts of the stone walls belonging to the earlier Kahsegger farm were incorporated into the south wing. These older stone elements remain distinguishable from the later brickwork. The castle’s original Romantic Historicist character has been altered substantially by repeated renovations, so its present appearance represents several building phases rather than a single finished design.
West wing and tower
The west tower and west wing retain the results of the rebuilding carried out between 1899 and 1902. The west wing was shortened, part of the tower was relocated, and the castle chapel was eliminated during this intervention. In 1979, an extension replaced the long wooden balcony on the first floor of the west wing. The new addition served as a dining hall.
Later decorative changes
Some original Historicist elements were removed during later renovation campaigns. The characteristic chimneys were taken down around 2005, significantly changing the exterior. Certain refurbished areas were incorrectly dated to around the turn of the twentieth century and correspond more closely, especially in their interiors, to Art Nouveau, a style associated with flowing decorative forms and integrated ornament.
Park, land, and associated objects
The estate covered about 4.5 hectares and included a formerly overgrown castle park. Furnishings from Schloss Kassegg are now held in buildings of the Austrian Federal Forests, the state institution responsible for public forest property and related buildings, including premises in Grossreifling.
Hunting trophies and local traditions
Count Czernin brought buffalo and antelope trophies from his hunting expeditions to the castle. Large trophies bearing the inscription “O.C. 1926 Sudan” were found at a second-hand dealer in Waidhofen an der Ybbs after Gustav Hoffmann acquired the property and were returned to Schloss Kassegg. Following the ownership change in the 1990s, the trophy horns were supplied for the costumes of the Hammerschmiedteufel, traditional masked performers associated with the Saint Nicholas season in Sankt Gallen.
A local anecdote also tells that Count Czernin brought a large gorilla from a big-game-hunting expedition in the 1920s and kept it at the castle for several years. According to the story, the animal died after drinking a bottle of silver polish found in the horse-tack room.
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