Schloss Gatterburg, Retz

Schloss Gatterburg stands in the south-east corner of Retz’s old town in Lower Austria, a short walk from the medieval town walls. The building began as a 15th-century farm near the fortifications and was later rebuilt as a Gothic town castle. In 1660 the Hoyos family started the present structure, which was finished under Count Konstantin Josef von Gatterburg after 1709. The house was then given a Baroque makeover in 1712. Today it belongs to the Suttner-Gatterburg family, who still live there. The castle is a four-sided block with a nearly square inner courtyard. The main south front rises three storeys above a simple stone façade. Inside, the grand rooms still show the plasterwork and panelled doors of the early 18th century. The library holds books collected by the Gatterburg family over centuries. A small chapel on the first floor keeps its original stucco altar. Visitors enter through the main gate on the southern side and walk into the quiet courtyard. The arcaded ground floor frames views of the three-storey wings. On the first floor the former state rooms are used for concerts and exhibitions. Beyond the castle walls the old town of Retz stretches north-west, its narrow lanes lined with wine cellars. The surrounding countryside is a patchwork of vineyards and fields, visible from the upper windows.