Schloss Ort — Attraction in 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. The 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. The castle was not well maintained between 1919 and 1973.

At present the castle is being used for a study center of the Federal Ministry for Land and Forestry (Bundesministeriums für Land- und Forstwirtschaft). On January 5, 1995, the castle was officially acquired by the city of Gmunden. In 1996, it began to be used as a location for the TV series...

Stunning Castle. Absolutely beautiful and iconic. We discovered Schloss Ort because a beloved friend of ours showed us her picture from when she got married there and we thought it looked beautiful.

Once when we holidayed over in Austria, after coming back from Hallstatt on the train, we discovered our train would be stopping there and as it was twilight we thought we would still have enough time to photograph it.

Long story short: Transport is a bit tricky and we called a taxi so by the time we got to Schloss Ort it was dark but our driver was a good sport and let us take pics before taking us back to the station.

We decided to stay in Summer this year - 2018 and luckily the tram at Gmunden train station was working so we managed to get into Town alright.

From Town you can see Schloss Ort and take some wonderful photos. We managed to walk there and it's a leisurely stroll about 20-30 mins depending on how fast you walk.

Once there you are able to take pictures on the jetty and walk round the OUTSIDE of the Ort. Inside is mainly used for functions/weddings.

Schloss Ort is a very picturesque and beautiful place. Definitely worth taking pictures of if passing by or...

(The * part) The beautifully located "Seeschloss" (castle in the lake) is worth a visit. Walk around the castle, enjoy the views of Gmunden and the lake, maybe drink some coffee. You can also snap a picture of the courtyard from the entrance. (The * part) A visit of the interior isn't really necessary. You can look into the coat of arms hall through a glass door. There are some prison cells that contain video monitors, and you can watch one, while standing in the door and blocking the next guy. Other (possibly interesting) videos can be watched while standing. There are three or four rooms with relics of mountaineering from the past century - experts may enjoy this. The castle church - usually one of the rooms that can be visited - was closed, and the cashier bluntly refused to unlock it, because we "would be carrying dirt into the church" -...