History

The castle is over 1000 years old and was first documented in 979 when Otto II. gave the land between the two Erlauf rivers to Bishop Wolfgang von Regensburg. Subsequent bishops then passed it on to various noble men, among them Albrecht von Hals, as feudal tenure. In 1524, Wolfgang von Oed, Emperor Ferdinand I’s cup bearer, bought the castle. His crest can still be found above the entrance to the tower. He was responsible for a lot of renovations and additions to the castle, such as the frescos above the arcades that can still be seen in the courtyard today. The late Gothic spiral staircase with its ornamented stone lunette above the entrance door also dates back to the early Renaissance. The inscription “IVE 1561” on one of the stone columns was done in honour of Wolfgang’s granddaughter Judith von Edth = Oedt

The Auersperg family first lived at Ernegg in 1656. The crest above the portal confirms this date. Sigmund Erasmus Baron of Auersperg bought the castle from the Neudegg brothers and it has been in the family ever since.

Originally, the castle was erected with 4 towers and surrounded by a moat. Today’s architecture mostly dates back to the 16th century.  Schloss Ernegg was built in trapezoid shape with a large arcaded courtyard, a central tower and a chapel tower where you can still see the pseudo-ashlar masonry from the 17th century on the outside. A fire in 1836 destroyed the roofs but did not damage the stone walls. The castle was then restored by Josef Auersperg.

The chapel of St Bartholomew was created in 1330 and carefully restored in 2002. In the same year, it was reconsecrated, so that private weddings could take place again at the castle.

Schloss Ernegg has passed through many generations of the Auersperg family. Georgina Auersperg Newall currently runs the castle and estate. Despite constant restorations, she manages to maintain the original charm of this beautiful historic building.