The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Engelhartstetten

It is beautiful here

Pond / small lake at the main entrance of Schloss Hof Beautiful pond / small lake at the main entrance / ticket office / exit of Schloss Hof on Friedrich-Prankh-Weg

Baroque Garden - The Garden Paradise, Hof Castle The area sloping down to the March lowlands to the east of the castle was predestined to create a garden based on the French model simply because of its location. In just a few years, Prince Eugene had the architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt and the garden engineer Anton Zinner create one of the most important gardens in the German-speaking world on a total of seven terraces. The vertical central axis, along which there are numerous fountains, divides the garden into two mirror-image areas on each level. A well-thought-out sculpture program created by the sculptor Johann Christoph Mader pays homage to the lord of the castle, Prince Eugene. The water required to operate the fountains and to supply the plants was derived from three ponds in the nearest village of Groißenbrunn. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the garden gradually fell into disrepair. The three paintings by Bernardo Belotto, known as Canaletto, were one of the most important sources for the gradual reconstruction of the individual terrace areas since 2002. These views of the palace complex were created on Maria Theresa's commission around 1760. Text / Source: Schloss Hof, 2294 Schloßhof 1 https://www.schlosshof.at/ueber-schloss-hof/garten

Baroque Garden - The revitalization of the Baroque Garden, Schloss Hof After 15 years of detailed reconstruction, the garden in Schloss Hof can now be experienced by our guests in its 18th century appearance right down to the last terrace! We have accompanied this journey for you and provide insights into the exciting period of restoration work. With the restoration of the seventh garden terrace in 2019 and the completed reconstruction of the Great Cascade in 2018, the 15-hectare Baroque Garden of Schloss Hof can once again be experienced in its entirety as it was in the 18th century. Text / Source: Schloss Hof, 2294 Schloßhof 1 https://www.schlosshof.at/ueber-schloss-hof/garten/revitalisierung-barockgarten

Neptune Fountain, Schloss Hof The original fountain, dating from the time of Prince Eugene, was demolished in the 19th century. The reconstructed structure is missing the most important group of figures, Neptune with a dolphin, which has been lost. The groups on the sides of the fountain depict the fight between Hercules and Antaeus, in which the ancient hero defeats his opponent through strength and cleverness. This motif was often used as a reference to the princely virtues of the castle owner. Text / Source: Schloss Hof, 2294 Schloßhof 1 https://www.schlosshof.at/ueber-schloss-hof/garten/1-terrasse?tourId=17

Saved from decay!!, Hof Castle After the end of the Habsburg monarchy, the property became state property. Little changed for Hof Castle. It remained under military administration, only the soldiers' uniforms changed. After the Imperial and Royal Cavalry, the Austrian Federal Army moved in, then the German Wehrmacht and finally, in 1945, the soldiers of the Red Army. Major restoration and restoration work in the Hof and Niederweiden castles, which had already fallen into disrepair at that time, took place on the occasion of the Lower Austrian State Exhibition "Prince Eugene and Baroque Austria" in 1986. Extensive renovation work and the restoration of the two castles began in 2002, when the Marchfeldschlösser Revitalisierungs- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. was founded. This was incorporated into the Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. in 2015. Text / Source: Schloss Hof, 2294 Schloßhof 1 https://www.schlosshof.at/ueber-schloss-hof/geschichte

Owned by the Habsburgs - Maria Theresa's widow's residence, Hof Palace Shortly after the purchase, minor adaptations began in the palace: Prince Eugene's private rooms now served the imperial couple and were refurnished for this purpose. Until his death in 1765, Emperor Franz Stephan spent a few weeks at Hof Palace every year to hunt or to "lighten the soul of the burden of ruling" with Maria Theresa and the children, as an inscription on the palace's garden-side façade states. Far-reaching changes were made to the palace in the 1770s by the imperial court architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt. The building was raised by one floor to create additional guest rooms. The rooms on the main floor were redesigned in the classicist style. Maria Theresa, who had since become a widow, had an apartment furnished in predominantly grey and white in the south wing. This phase of renovation gave the palace its current appearance. A palace as a training facility for the k.k. Army After Maria Theresa's death in 1780, the following generations showed little interest in their Marchfeld summer residence and increasingly left it to the influences of nature. In 1898, Emperor Franz Joseph decided to hand the complex over to the army administration in order to set up a riding and driving training institute. Before the military moved in, most of the art objects such as furniture, garden sculptures and wrought iron gates were transported to Vienna in 200 wagons and formed a rich fund for the furnishing of other imperial palaces over the next two decades. The most striking change in Schloss Hof during this time was the construction of two new riding halls on the first terrace. Text / Source: Schloss Hof, 2294 Schloßhof 1 https://www.schlosshof.at/ueber-schloss-hof/geschichte

History of Schloss Hof and Schloss Niederweiden The grounds of Schloss Hof extend over more than 70 hectares in the east of Lower Austria. The magnificent ensemble consisting of the two-story castle, the garden and the manor house is of particular artistic and cultural historical significance. Prince Eugene's hunting paradise In 1725, the 62-year-old general Prince Eugene of Savoy acquired a one-story Renaissance castle with a rectangular floor plan and commissioned Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt to build a representative hunting lodge. Expensive furnishings The castle was extended to the west by two wings. Over 800 craftsmen were busy laying out a spacious garden with seven terraces until Prince Eugene's death in 1736. The manor house built to the north of the castle was to serve as economic supplies in the future. For the exquisite furnishing of the palace rooms - on the first floor were Prince Eugene's living apartment, the state apartment, 13 guest rooms, the chapel and the ballroom - the artists who had already made a name for themselves in the Belvedere palaces, among others, were hired. These included the interior decorator Claude Le Fort du Plessy and the stucco artists Santino Bussi and Alberto Camesina. The great inheritance and intoxicating parties When Prince Eugene died at the age of seventy-three, his only living relative, his niece Anna Victoria of Savoy-Soissons, inherited all of his possessions and became one of the richest women in Europe. Two years after the inheritance, she married Prince Joseph Friedrich of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who was 18 years younger than him, and gave him the Hof and Niederweiden palaces. Even after the couple separated, these properties remained in Joseph Friedrich's possession and he knew how to use them as venues for luxurious events. Prince Saxe-Hildburghausen used his last big party at Schloss Hof in 1754 to sell the property as profitably as possible. For three days, the guests of honor - Maria Theresa and Franz I Stephan of Lorraine - were shown every conceivable spectacle to encourage them to buy. The numerous performances had their effect. A year later, Maria Theresa purchased Schloss Hof and gave it to her husband. Text / Source: Schloss Hof, 2294 Schloßhof 1 https://www.schlosshof.at/ueber-schloss-hof/geschichte