Schloss St. Georgen an der Stiefing

Schloss St. Georgen an der Stiefing stands in the village of the same name in the Leibnitz district of Styria. The building forms a single historic unit with the parish church next to it, originally built as a castle church. The complex is protected as a listed monument.

The castle first appears in records from 1147, when Rupertus of St. Georgen donated vineyards to Admont Abbey. The founder was Count Luitold I of Plain in the 12th century. Later owners included bishops of Seckau, the noble Glojach family, and the Egkh von Hungerspach couple in the 18th century. Sculptures by Veit Königer date from this period, as does the late-baroque redesign of the Knights’ Hall.

Visitors find a Renaissance main building with a stone staircase in the courtyard. The church retains a Romanesque portal in its crypt. The Johannishügel in front of the castle holds the graves of writer Paul Ernst and his wife Else. The Basteigarten occupies the site of a demolished wing. Today the castle houses a massage school run by the Reinisch family.