Schloss Stetten ob Lontal

Schloss Stetten ob Lontal rises above the Lonetal valley on the site of an earlier medieval fortress. Built in 1646 in the Renaissance style, the building sits on the slopes of a former hilltop castle. Between 1712 and 1748 the architect Valerian Brenner remodelled the interior and exterior in the Baroque manner. In 1821 Count Carl Leopold von Maldeghem bought the estate from the Riedheim family and used it as a school, town hall and rental property. Since 1976 the castle has been in private hands and remains closed to visitors.

The castle’s owners changed several times over the centuries. The Riedheim family held it from 1357 until 1646, when it passed to Heinrich Wilhelm von Hack. In 1678 the forester Daniel Schleiche purchased it from Sophie Elisabeth von Jaxheim. Johann Philipp von Schell bought the property in 1707, followed by the Rakenitz brothers in 1720. Count Carl Leopold von Maldeghem acquired it in 1821 for 100,000 florins.

The building still shows its layered history in its stone walls and Baroque windows. The main block stands on a raised terrace with views across the Lonetal floodplain. Outbuildings and a small park surround the castle, giving a sense of its former estate. Though not open to the public, the exterior offers a quiet reminder of the region’s noble past.