Schloss Weißenau, Wolfsberg

Schloss Weißenau stands west of St. Marein in the Wolfsberg municipality of Carinthia. The building began as a simple residence in the early 16th century under Andreas Weiß, who served as steward at nearby Twimberg Castle. In the late 17th century it passed to Bishop Franz Caspar von Stadion of Lavant, who owned it until 1687. Hugo Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck bought the estate in 1856 and, after his death, his widow Laura commissioned a romantic historicist remodelling between 1890 and 1895. The present structure is a two-storey building arranged around a courtyard with three wings, its core dating from the 16th or 17th century. The east tower carries battlements and the façade follows English Tudor-Gothic detailing. Inside, the southwest wing’s grand hall preserves rich baroque stucco on ceiling and chimney, while the chimney’s overmantel displays the bishop’s coat of arms. Upstairs in the northeast wing, the small chapel was refitted around 1890 in uniform neo-Gothic style, complete with original fittings. Visitors enter through the main gate into the enclosed courtyard, where the three wings frame views of the surrounding countryside. The battlemented east tower rises above the complex, marking the skyline. Inside, the grand hall’s stucco patterns and the chapel’s painted roof beams remain as they were at the end of the 19th century. The entire building stands quietly among meadows and woodland, its Tudor-Gothic silhouette visible from the road.