Schloss Wallerstein

Schloss Wallerstein stands in the small market town of Wallerstein in the Swabian district of Donau-Ries. It is a three-winged building with a sharply defined classical façade. The present structure was created by joining several older buildings into one. The work began in 1803 under Fürstin Wilhelmine zu Oettingen-Wallerstein. She commissioned the architect Johann Melchior Hochstatter to unite the Lower Residence with its four separate buildings. The first phases of construction focused on the Green House and the Italianate Building on the south side. These early works were completed in 1805, though wider political events soon limited further progress. The castle’s composite origins remain visible in its layout. The differing floor plans produce a stepped recession in the south front. On the north side a continuous row of windows was created by the new construction. The wider grounds include an English-style courtyard garden, largely designed in 1826 by Michael Anton Koch. Within the garden stands a riding school modelled on the Vienna Hofreitschule, now home to a museum of carriage and equestrian sport. Nearby are the hunting lodge, a former greenhouse now used as a tea house, and the early 19th-century Moritzschlösschen. The castle remains in the possession of the Oettingen-Wallerstein family. Its classical façade and carefully arranged wings show the ambitions of the early 19th century. The surviving riding school and garden layout recall the tastes of Fürstin Wilhelmine’s time. Though parts of the estate are closed to the public, the exterior and surrounding grounds offer a clear view of Swabian classical architecture and landscape design.