Schloss Kirchberg am Walde, Medieval castle and school in Grafendorf bei Hartberg, Austria

Schloss Kirchberg am Walde is a three-story castle with a rectangular layout in Grafendorf bei Hartberg, featuring columned arcades that surround a courtyard. A square stair tower with a pyramid roof marks the structure, which now serves as an agricultural and forestry school.

Count Ekbert II von Formbach-Pitten built the original fortress around 1130 as the seat of a lordship that organised the settlement of the area. After its destruction by the Turks, the counts Trauttmansdorff, owners from 1443 to 1669, rebuilt it in 1532. From 1670 to 1802 it belonged to the counts Auersperg; in 1802 Hieronymus Wolf acquired it, and in 1923 the province of Styria bought it.

The castle has served since 1923 as an agricultural and forestry school for the state of Styria, training students in farming and forestry for eastern Styria. Near the castle stands a Marian column dated by its chronogram to 1667, probably raised in thanks for the victory over the Turks at Mogersdorf in 1664.

The castle is located at Erdwegen 1-4 and functions as a school, so access may be limited. Check ahead to see if public visits are possible or if any events are open to visitors.

The Auersperg family coat of arms remains visible at the main entrance. This marks the period from 1670 to 1802 when the Counts of Auersperg owned and used the castle as their residence.