Schloss Ottenschlag, Renaissance castle in Ottenschlag, Austria

Schloss Ottenschlag is a Renaissance castle on a slight rise at the north side of the market square in Ottenschlag, Lower Austria. Its regular two-storey horseshoe-shaped layout has three massive round corner towers under tent roofs, with the courtyard closed to the east by a rubble-stone wall. The south entrance is a pilaster-flanked Renaissance portal dated 1554, formerly reached by a drawbridge, with Mannerist scrollwork, grotesques and coats of arms.

Wolfgang von Rogendorf founded the castle in 1523 as a former moated castle, built around a medieval fortress that stood until the 18th century. Ownership passed from the Freiherren von Polheim (1596–1666) to the Grafen von Herberstein in the 18th century and the Grafen von Falkenhayn in the 19th. In 1904 the industrialist Munk converted it into a factory; from 1931 it belonged to Stift Göttweig, passed to the province of Lower Austria in 1986, served as a school from 1992 to 2022, and was sold to a private individual in 2023.

The entrance portal displays Mannerist reliefs with intricate designs of vines, grotesques, and coats of arms, reflecting artistic tastes of the 16th century. These decorative details show how wealthy families adorned their castles with refined artistic touches during that era.

Schloss Ottenschlag stands slightly elevated on the north side of the market square in Ottenschlag, Lower Austria, and is a protected monument. It was used as a school building from 1992 to 2022 and was sold to a private individual in 2023, so it is not open to visitors as an event venue. The entrance is on the south side through a Renaissance portal dated 1554, formerly reached by a drawbridge.

The south wing holds a cellar under a massive barrel vault, and the west wing keeps a shoulder-arch portal from the first half of the 15th century, a remnant of the medieval castle that stood here until the 18th century. The south tower's eight-part cell vault with a star-shaped keystone is the oldest vault in the building.