Schallaburg Castle

The central part of the Schallaburg Castle was built in the German Renaissance Age, beginning around 1540, by the Losenstein dynasty. The castle is combination of a Romanesque residential castle and a Gothic chapel, patterned in the Italian Renaissance style. Aesthetically built, it has a well-decorated two-storied arcaded court with elegant cantilevered staircases and a courtyard. The decorations are in terracotta mosaic depicting mythological figures, gods, masks and human beings and animals; a legendary mythical figurine here is known as Hundefräulein (a female human figure with a dog’s head).

At the gate entrance to the castle, there are two large 'smoke-spewing dragons', each 30 metres long and 6 metres high, which is a favourite entertainment spot for the children to slide down its mouth from the top. Its culturally rich Mannerist gardens have roses, ornamental trees and bushes and herbs planted in the gardens in the town, and two Renaissance apple orchards.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Schallaburg 1, Schallaburg, Austria

Details

Founded: 1540
Category: Castles and fortifications in Austria