Schloss Rabensburg

Schloss Rabensburg stands in the small town of Rabensburg in Lower Austria. The building began as a wooden fort in the 11th century and was rebuilt in stone around 1200. It became a water castle surrounded by a moat. In the 14th century the Zelkinger family sold it to the Liechtenstein family, who turned it into a residence. The castle was expanded under Maximilian von Liechtenstein in the 17th century, adding bastions and cannon positions. The castle’s history includes sieges and occupations. Swedish forces took it in 1645 during the Thirty Years’ War. Later, Kuruzen raids in 1704 and 1706 damaged the building so badly that services were held in the knights’ hall until 1765. The Liechtenstein family owned it until 1991, though it served mainly as an estate office and later housed a parquet factory. After years of neglect it passed to a gravel quarry owner, leaving the exterior in poor condition. Inside, visitors can still see traces of the Renaissance sgraffiti on the outer walls. The knights’ hall, once used for church services, remains a notable room. The surrounding moat and former moat walls outline the castle’s original defences. Despite its neglected state, the structure preserves parts of its 16th- and 17th-century appearance. The setting in the Marchfeld plain gives distant views over the flat landscape.