Schloss Laubegg

Schloss Laubegg stands on a gentle rise above the Mur valley in the southern Steiermark, near the village of Ragnitz. The building began as a medieval fortress owned by the Eppensteiners, then passed through the Mureckers and the Wildoners before becoming a bishop’s fief. In 1302 Hartnid III of Wildon had to cede it to the Bishopric of Seckau but kept it as a vassal. After changing hands several times, the castle was rebuilt in 1561 following its destruction in the first Austrian-Turkish war. The site once commanded a clear line of sight to other watch-towers, and a beacon system warned of danger. Later it served as a novitiate house, then as a Nazi training centre, and after 1945 as a care home and Caritas convalescent centre. Since 2004 it has housed the training and operations centre of the Styrian Red Cross. Visitors walk through the main gate into a courtyard framed by two-storey arcades. Inside, the former chapel and grand halls retain their 16th-century timber ceilings and painted panelling. Beyond the castle walls lie vineyards and the wide Mur floodplain, offering quiet walks along the riverbank.