Schloss Weinburg am Saßbach

Schloss Weinburg am Saßbach stands on a gentle rise above the Mura plain in the southern Steiermark, near the Slovenian border. The building began as a medieval fortress in the 13th century and was later enlarged by Max Leisser in the 16th century. Erzherzog Karl von Innerösterreich commissioned the imperial architect Andrea Bertoletti to remodel it between 1578 and 1590. In 1837 the estate passed to Marie Caroline, Duchess of Berry, and her second husband Ettore Graf Lucchesi-Palli. After war damage in 1945 the family restored both Weinburg and the nearby Schloss Brunnsee, and they still own the property today. The two-storey castle has an irregular pentagonal plan enclosing an arcaded courtyard. Three corner towers rise above the roofline, topped by the chapel’s bell tower. A stone statue of Saint John of Nepomuk stands in front of the main façade, carved in the 18th century. The east wing contains the castle chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine, built in 1608 on medieval foundations. Inside, the high altar in ornate Baroque style was donated by Emperor Karl VI and features a late 16th-century painting of the Lamentation over Christ. Visitors walk through the arcaded courtyard and enter the chapel, where the 15th- and 16th-century bells still ring. The interior shows a mix of Renaissance and Baroque furnishings: a carved pulpit from the 19th century, a 17th-century scourged Christ figure, and an 18th-century crucifix. Outside, the surrounding plain stretches towards the hills, and the castle’s silhouette with its three towers dominates the horizon.