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Castles in Austria

Updated November 2026

Austria's castles tell the story of the Habsburgs, who ruled from here for more than 600 years. In Vienna the Hofburg and Schönbrunn show imperial splendour, in Innsbruck the Hofburg recalls Emperor Maximilian I.

In the mountains, fortresses such as Hohenwerfen and Kufstein guard the valleys, Riegersburg sits on an extinct volcano in Styria, and Burg Kreuzenstein north of Vienna looks medieval although it was rebuilt in the 19th century.

PrimeMap lists 1,925 castles and palaces in Austria. Here are some of the best known.

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In the free PrimeMap app you will find all 1,925 places from this page on the map, with descriptions, photos and directions. Open the map wherever you are and see what is nearby.

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Hofburg Palace

Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons

Hofburg Palace

📍 Vienna

The Hofburg (German: [ˈhoːfbʊʁk]) is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards.

Hohenwerfen Castle

Photo: Arne Müseler · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Hohenwerfen Castle

📍 Salzburg

Hohenwerfen Castle (German: Festung Hohenwerfen, lit. 'Hohenwerfen Fortress') is a medieval rock castle, situated at an altitude of 623 metres (2,044 ft), on a 155-metre (509 ft) rock pillar overlooking the Austrian market town of Werfen in the Salzach valley, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Salzburg.

Artstetten Castle

Photo: Carsten Steger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Artstetten Castle

📍 Artstetten-Pöbring, Bezirk Melk

Artstetten Castle (German: Schloss Artstetten, pronounced [ˌʃlɔs ˈaʁtʃtɛtn̩] ) is a historic Schloss near the Wachau valley in Lower Austria, in the municipality of Artstetten-Pöbring.

Schloss Blühnbach

Photo: Thorsten Cramer · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Blühnbach

📍 Salzburg

Schloss Blühnbach (German: Schloss Blühnbach) is a stately home in the Blühnbach valley in Werfen, Salzburg (state), Austria. Formerly, it was a hunting lodge of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg and Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I.

Schloss Grafenegg

Photo: Carsten Steger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Grafenegg

📍 Grafenegg, Bezirk Krems

Schloss Grafenegg is a castle in Grafenegg, Lower Austria, Austria. Together with Burg Kreuzenstein and Schloss Anif near Salzburg, it is considered to be an outstanding example of romantic historical architecture in Austria.

Itter Castle

Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Itter Castle

📍 Itter, Bezirk Kitzbühel

Itter Castle (German: Schloss Itter) is a 19th-century castle in Itter, a village in Tyrol, Austria. In 1943, during World War II, it was turned into a Nazi prison for French VIPs. The castle was the site of an extraordinary instance of the U.S.

Cumberland Castle

Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Cumberland Castle

📍 Gmunden, Bezirk Gmunden

Cumberland Castle (German: Schloss Cumberland, pronounced [ʃlɔs ˈkʊmbɐlant]) is a former royal palace in Gmunden, Austria. When the House of Hanover lost the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover after it was annexed by Prussia, its members went to Austria into exile.

Burg Kreuzenstein

Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Burg Kreuzenstein

📍 Leobendorf, Bezirk Korneuburg

Burg Kreuzenstein is a castle near Leobendorf in Lower Austria, Austria. Burg Kreuzenstein is 265 metres (869 ft) above sea level. It was constructed on the remains of a medieval castle that had fallen into disrepair and was then demolished during the Thirty Years' War.

Schloss Leopoldskron

Photo: Simon1976 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Leopoldskron

📍 Salzburg

Schloss Leopoldskron is a rococo palace and a national historic monument in Leopoldskron-Moos, a southern district of the city of Salzburg, Austria. The palace, and its surrounding seven hectare park, is located on the lake Leopoldskroner Weiher. The palace has been home to Salzburg Global Seminar since 1947.

Kufstein Fortress

Photo: Rufus46 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kufstein Fortress

📍 Kufstein, Bezirk Kufstein

The Kufstein Fortress (German: Festung Kufstein) is the main landmark of Kufstein, a town in Tyrol, Austria. It is sometimes wrongly referred to as Geroldseck Fortress. It is on a hill commanding Kufstein proper. Kufstein Fortress is 507 metres (1,663 ft) above sea level.

Schloss Fuschl

Photo: waterborough · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Fuschl

📍 Hof bei Salzburg, Bezirk Salzburg-Umgebung

Schloss Fuschl is a castle in the municipality of Hof bei Salzburg, in the Land Salzburg in western Austria. It stands on a peninsula at the western end of Lake Fuschl, a glacier lake.

Schloss Esterházy

Photo: Johann Jaritz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Esterházy

📍 Eisenstadt

Schloss Esterházy (Hungarian: Esterházy-kastély) is a palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, the capital of the Burgenland state. It was constructed in the late 13th century, and came under ownership of the Hungarian Esterházy family in 1622.

Hermesvilla

Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Hermesvilla

📍 Vienna

Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility.

Hellbrunn Palace

Photo: Nicholas Even (own work) · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Hellbrunn Palace

📍 Salzburg

Hellbrunn Palace (German: Schloss Hellbrunn) is an early Baroque villa of palatial size, located in Hellbrunn, the southern countryside district (Landschaftsraum) of the city of Salzburg, Austria.

Riegersburg Castle

Photo: Nxr-at · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Riegersburg Castle

📍 Riegersburg, Bezirk Südoststeiermark

Riegersburg Castle is a medieval castle situated on an extinct volcano above the town of Riegersburg in the Austrian state of Styria. The castle is owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein and contains a museum with changing exhibitions. Riegersburg Castle is situated at a height of 450 m (1,480 ft).

Schloss Velden

Photo: Johann Jaritz · CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Velden

📍 Velden am Wörther See, Bezirk Villach-Land

Schloss Velden is a castle in the Austrian tourist resort of Velden am Wörther See, Carinthia. It is run as a year-round hotel located on the western shore of Lake Wörth (Wörthersee).

Hofburg, Innsbruck

Photo: QEDquid · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Hofburg, Innsbruck

📍 Innsbruck

The Hofburg (English: Court Castle) is a former Habsburg palace in Innsbruck, Austria, and considered one of the three most significant cultural buildings in the country, along with the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

Schloss Ort

Photo: Thomas Ledl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Ort

📍 Gmunden, Bezirk Gmunden

Schloss Ort (or Schloss Orth) is an Austrian castle situated in the Traunsee lake, in Gmunden, 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Vöcklabruck, the gate to Salzkammergut.

Schallaburg Castle

Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Schallaburg Castle

📍 Schollach, Bezirk Melk

Schallaburg Castle is a castle in the village of Schallaburg in the municipality of Schollach, near the Wachau valley, Lower Austria, north of the Alps. Schallaburg Renaissance Castle is 5 kilometres (3 mi) from Melk, in the region known as Mostviertel.

Laxenburg castles

Photo: P e z i · CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons

Laxenburg castles

📍 Laxenburg, Bezirk Mödling

Laxenburg castles are imperial palaces and castles outside Vienna, in the town of Laxenburg owned in equal parts by Vienna and Lower Austria. The castles became a Habsburg possession in 1333 and formerly served as a summer retreat, along with Schönbrunn palace, for the imperial Habsburg dynasty.

Burg Clam

Photo: Duke of W4 · CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons

Burg Clam

📍 Klam, Bezirk Perg

Burg Clam is a medieval castle in the Upper Austria area of Austria. It is situated 337 metres (1,106 ft) above sea level. Written records that mention the castle date back to the 12th century, and it has been in the possession of the Clam family since the 15th century.

Palais Liechtenstein

Photo: Welleschik · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Palais Liechtenstein

📍 Vienna

The Gartenpalais Liechtenstein (eng.: Liechtenstein Garden Palace) is a baroque palace on Fürstengasse in Vienna's 9th district, Alsergrund. The palace is owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, rulers of Liechtenstein. It sits on the southern end of the Liechtensteinpark.

Villa Wartholz

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Villa Wartholz

📍 Reichenau an der Rax, Bezirk Neunkirchen

The Villa Wartholz or Castle Wartholz is a former imperial villa in Reichenau an der Rax in Lower Austria.

Tratzberg Castle

Photo: Wolkenkratzer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tratzberg Castle

📍 Stans, Bezirk Schwaz

Tratzberg Castle is a castle in Jenbach, Tyrol, Austria. Tratzberg Castle is located on a steep ridge above Jenbach in the Austrian part of Tyrol.

How to find them

In the free PrimeMap app you will find all 1,925 places from this page on the map, with descriptions, photos and directions. Open the map wherever you are and see what is nearby.

App Store

Google Play

Descriptions: shortened excerpts from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence shown with each image. Locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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