After the government of Lower Austria had bought the Schallaburg, the castle was completely renovated, and in 1974 opened as a museum. Since then there has been a new exhibition every year. Currently there's an exhibition about the 1970's.
From the 17th until the 20th century, the castle Schallaburg changed owners several times - it remained private property until 1945 when it was confiscated by the Russians (after the end of World War II Austria was occupied by the Allies). Ten years later the castle became property of the new Republic of Austria. In 1967 the government of Lower Austria bought the castle from the Austrian state.
The other day I made an excursion to the castle Schallaburg in Lower Austria. The castle was first mentioned in records in 1242. From 1456 until 1614 the Schallaburg was in possession of the Von Losenheim family. During this time the castle was extended significantly and transformed into a Renaissance castle.
Flowers and benches in front of the orangerie in Schloss Hof.
The sala terrena is the “ground floor” of Schloss Hof palace, it connects the interior of the palace with the garden terrace. This kind of room is a characteristic of Baroque palaces.
Some weeks ago a friend of mine and me made an excursion to Schloss Hof in Lower Austria. The grounds of Schloss Hof extend over more than 50 hectares of land. The magnificent ensemble with its lordly palace, beautiful terraced garden and idyllic manor farm was laid out in the late 1720s as an impressive country home and hunting lodge for Prince Eugene of Savoy. In 1755 Empress Maria Theresia acquired the complex from Prince Eugene’s heir and presented it as a gift to her husband, Emperor Francis Stephen. The generations of Habsburg emperors and archdukes that followed showed little interest in their Marchfeld summer residence and increasingly allowed nature to do its destructive work. In the late 19th century Emperor Francis Joseph I turned the complex into a military training ground, and the already heavily damaged imperial splendour almost entirely disappeared.
During and after the two world wars Schloss Hof was exposed to more disinterest and inappropriate use. Only in 2002 a society founded solely for the revitalization, undertook the needed measurements for the restoration of this precious monument of Austrian cultural heritage. In May 2005 the ensemble was opened to the public.
Browsing my hard disk, I stumbled upon this photo taken two years ago in the garden of a friend of mine in Lower Austria. Sometimes I try to be artsy...
