Schloss Lichtenau

Schloss Lichtenau stands on rising ground in the southern part of the market town of Lichtenau in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria. The castle and its surrounding defensive walls are protected monuments. A moat and a high wall still surround the three-winged building. On the west side the remains of a 12th-century ditch mark the line of an earlier castle. The castle began as a medieval stronghold and passed through many noble families. In the 13th century it belonged to the Neudegg, Bschänik and Althan families. The Trauttmansdorffs, Sinzendorfs and Herbersteins followed in later centuries. The philosopher Christian von Ehrenfels lived here as a boy and later taught in Graz and Prague. His daughter Imma became a noted writer and won the Austrian State Prize for Literature in 1959. After restoration the castle now serves as a private home with farm buildings. Inside, the entrance hall shows a late-Gothic shoulder-arched doorway. Remains of 16th-century sgraffito window frames survive on the inner walls. The south-east corner has pointed-arched windows and a neo-Gothic star-vaulted ceiling. The cellars hold 15th-century ribbed vaults on wall shafts. The former chapel on the first floor contains a six-part star vault from the mid-16th century. Outside, the moat and walls give sweeping views over the surrounding countryside.