Wildegg Castle, Medieval castle in Wienerwald, Austria.
Wildegg Castle is a medieval rock castle on a steep cliff at about 460 m above sea level north of Sittendorf in the Wienerwald. Its irregular, roughly triangular plan follows the medieval core, with 12th-century unplastered ashlar masonry in the lower storey. A Renaissance rebuild unified the roofline, broken only by the southeast tower with its tent roof. The first triangular Renaissance courtyard north of the Alps lies inside.
The castle was built in the Middle Ages as a fortified noble residence and went through several changes over the following centuries while keeping its original form. It is now a protected monument, one of the surviving examples of medieval castle architecture in Lower Austria.
The castle has belonged to the Katholische Jungschar der Erzdiözese Wien since 1986 and is run as a self-catering house. That organisation was founded at the castle in 1947. The name Wildegg comes from the Wildegger family, who held it until 1261; the last of the line, Konrad von Wildegg, was buried at Heiligenkreuz Abbey.
The castle is on Wildeggerstraße in Sittendorf and is easiest to reach by car, as the area is wooded and rural. The path up to the entrance follows unpaved ground, so sturdy footwear is a good idea before setting out.
The castle is not a ruin: it was saved from demolition in 1945 when a member of a Catholic hiking association negotiated with approaching Soviet troops who intended to blow it up. Two years later, in 1947, the Katholische Jungschar was founded there, and it has run the castle as a self-catering house since 1986.
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