Ort castle was founded around 1080 by Hartnidus of Ort, and improvements continued to be made into the thirteenth century - for example by Hartnidus V in 1244. In 1344 the brothers Friedrich and Reinprecht I of Wallsee purchased the castle, which became Friedrich’s sole possession on January 25, 1350. The castle remained in the possession of the Wallsee family until 1483, when Schloss Ort passed to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.

From 1484 to 1491, the castle was governed by Gotthard von Starhenberg, the Governor of Upper Austria. In 1492, Bernhard of Starhenberg and later his descendants ruled the castle until 1584. In 1588, the castle was purchased by Weikhard Freiherr of Pollheim, but he sold the castle on April 6, 1595 to the city of Gmunden. However, Gmunden sold the castle to Rudolf II that same year. The castle then passed to other owners before finally being acquired by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

In 1876, the castle was acquired by Archduke John Salvator of Austria (John of Tuscany) (1852 – ca. 1911), but on October 6, 1889, he renounced his title and connections to the Habsburg imperial house and changed his name to Johann Orth, the tenth and last child of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany and Maria Antonietta of the Two Sicilies departing for South America in 1890 with his morganatic wife on his own ship, the St. Margaret. Johann Nepomuk Salvator was presumed lost at sea in 1890, and declared dead in 1911, but his actual date of death is unknown.

The castle was acquired by Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1914, and it was intended for students of Gmunden’s schools to be allowed to visit the castle, but this plan was interrupted by World War I.

At present the castle is being used for a study center of the Federal Ministry for Land and Forestry. On January 5, 1995, the castle was officially acquired by the city of Gmunden.

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Address

Ort 1, Gmunden, Austria
See all sites in Gmunden

Details

Founded: c. 1080
Category: Castles and fortifications in Austria

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Vasilis Karakostas (7 months ago)
Nice place to go for a walk by following the path from Gmunden. The place was Former hotel, now museum and a wedding spot. There is also a nice restaurant on the side with a mountain view! Definitely, worth visiting. To enter the museum you need to pay 5€. There is also a free parking area but you need to walk 5 - 10 minutes until the island.
Andrew F (9 months ago)
Always one of the highlights of a visit to Gmunden, but sadly they have started charging to go into the courtyard, the last time I visited. Although there is now a small museum about the peasants uprising, which may be of interest, putting the turnstile before the courtyard is a mistake that deters a lot of visitors.
Nataljya Bulatova (13 months ago)
Relaxing walk, lovely scenery; cool spots for pictures. Despite the cold weather, there was a great possibility to have a cup of coffee and warm punsh. What I'm missing as a way of tourists entertainment - a possibility to explore the Schloss itself.
Tin Avanceña (14 months ago)
Has an amazing view! It was gorgeous. If you'll be taking the train from linz, when you arrive at Gmunden hbf there's gonna be a tram on the other side going to Gmunden hauptplatz.
Backpacker _Hiker (2 years ago)
Nice spot to watch the views from! I came on a stormy day which was very cool! Didn't go inside the castle as already heard that there wasn't much to see. But again, a nice place to see the views from.
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