Hagenberg Castle, Medieval castle in Fallbach, Austria

Hagenberg Castle sits on elevated ground in Fallbach, combining restored medieval stone walls with contemporary architectural additions from the late 20th century. The structure blends different building phases from medieval times through the Renaissance into one coherent design.

Heinrich von Hackenberg, the builder, is documented in 1224, and in 1264 "castrum Hackenberg" hosted a sealing of a charter. After the last Hackenberg died, the estate passed in 1382 to Alber Stuchs von Trautmannsdorf; Christoph Kuenritz bought it in 1543 and converted it into a Renaissance castle. Plundered in 1620 by followers of Bethlen Gábor, it lay devastated through the Thirty Years' War until Sigmund Friedrich von Sinzendorf bought it in 1650; his nephew Theodor had it remodelled as a Baroque castle from 1679.

The name changed over time: it derives from a battle axe, was written Hakenberg or Hackenberg, became Haggenberg in the Baroque period and Hagenberg under Joseph II; the owners now prefer the Baroque spelling. The Initiative Hagenberg holds irregular "Haggenberger Schlossgespräche" on philosophy, architecture, art history and mysticism, and the castle has served as a film set.

The castle is privately inhabited and can only be visited by prior arrangement, so contact the owners before planning a trip. Access is via a short avenue in the northeast, over a stone bridge that leads through the gate into the frescoed entrance hall and the inner courtyard.

The baroque axis runs through the gate, the frescoed hall, the courtyard with its octagonal spring fountain and the three-bay shell grotto, the sala terrena, then out across the moat into the landscape. In the baroque era an artificial lake with an island lay there, navigated by Venetian gondoliers.