Schloss Seggau

Schloss Seggau stands on a wooded hill above the town of Leibnitz in southern Styria. It overlooks the surrounding vineyards and the Mur valley from an elevation of 344 metres. Three castles once occupied the site: the original twelfth-century fortress built by the Archbishopric of Salzburg, the bishops of Seckau’s castle expanded in 1218, and Schloss Polheim. By the late seventeenth century Bishop Johann Ernst, Count of Thun, completed the present complex. For centuries it served as the bishops’ residence and later as their summer home until well into the twentieth century. The castle now hosts seminars and conferences alongside a hotel and the Schloss Cafe. Its three-hundred-year-old wine cellar remains in use for tastings and sales. Roman remains discovered nearby include an impressive lapidarium that shows the site’s long history. The bishops’ private chapel, with its painted ceiling, still holds services and concerts. Guests can walk the terraced gardens planted with local vines and fruit trees. Visitors find shaded paths winding through the hilltop grounds. The castle’s inner courtyard opens onto vaulted halls where bishops once received guests. From the terrace the view stretches across the Mur valley to the surrounding hills. The hotel wing provides simple rooms with views over the vineyards. The cafe serves regional wines and dishes made from estate-grown produce.