At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a 450 metre long garden adjacent to the castle, modelled on French architecture, which was modern at the time. These included mazes, cascades, fountains, an orangery, herb gardens, fruit trees, floral decorations and even its own pleasure palace. This complex was so magnificent and unique in the entire region that the common parlance spoke of the "little Versailles of the Innviertel".
HISTORY OF THE MOATED CASTLE AUROLZMÜNSTER
The history of the magnificent moated castle began in 1676 with the acquisition of the property by Count Ferdinand Franz Albrecht von der Wahl.
The palace was built between 1691 and 1705 in the Bavarian Baroque style according to plans by architect Enrico Zuccalli. Precious frescoes and stucco work, an imposing park with cascades, mazes and water features (unfortunately no longer in existence today) and the marble stables with marble columns are among the architectural highlights. Work on the furnishings and interior decoration continued until 1745. In 1830, the property passed to the Counts of Arco from nearby St. Martin and in 1836 part of the castle was adapted to become Austria's first sugar factory. In 1927, the moated castle was one of the first properties in Upper Austria to be listed as a historical monument.
In 1925, the empty castle was bought by Karl Schappeller, a retired postmaster who was allegedly gifted with occult powers. Born in 1875 in the poorhouse of Aurolzmünster, Schappeller developed into a self-proclaimed inventor, visionary and ingenious pundit. He found more and more sponsors for his unusual projects for the future, such as his "energy machine", which was supposed to generate energy from nothing, or the "primal force material extraction units" for extracting silver or platinum from the earth's interior. The decisive turning point came when the former German Emperor Wilhelm II generously supported him. Schappeller began to renovate the castle and threw money at it. On 6 March 1930, an execution forced him to vacate the castle. But he returned triumphantly in the same year. He had already publicised his new plan in advance via the media - he was looking for the grave and treasure of the Hun King Attila in the castle courtyard. But this haunting only lasted a short time. Excavations in 1932, which made headlines in the world press, yielded no results. In 1947, Schappeller died amidst the financial chaos he had caused in Aurolzmünster, where he is immortalised in the local cemetery with the epitaph "Karl Schappeller, private, physicist and castle owner" together with his wife Anna, the castle owner's wife, and their daughter Anschy.
After these turbulent years, the property changed hands several times and fell into disrepair. In 1994, Dr Spiegelfeld-Schneeburg KG acquired the castle. After an initial emergency refurbishment, a further general refurbishment was carried out in 2003 at a cost of EUR 9.5 million. A labour-intensive 18 months later, the baroque moated castle shone again in the former glory of its heyday. Schlossverwaltungs AG acquired Aurolzmünster Castle in 2008. This AG was backed by four foundations. The castle was once again left to decay due to the lack of decision-making authority of the managing directors and the missing strategy.
Schlossverwaltungs AG acquired Aurolzmünster Castle in 2008. This AG was backed by four foundations. The castle was once again left to decay due to the lack of decision-making authority of the managing directors and the missing strategy.
In 2020, Schlossverwaltungs AG went bankrupt and the Ungar family took over. After two years of project development, the castle has not only been restored to its former splendour, but its economic viability has also been ensured.
THE VERSAILLES OF THE INNVIERTEL TODAY
Today, the Innviertler Versailles offers a wide range of possibilities - from an event castle, wedding location, seminar venue and boutique flats to leisure activities with castle tours and an escape room. There is also a castle shop with regional products and a café, restaurant with an outdoor area at Innviertler Versailles.
The moated castle is still surrounded on all sides by moats. The centrepiece is the two-storey central building with its banqueting hall extending into the attic. This is set on top of the centre risalit and features a ceiling painting and garden landscapes on the side walls. This main building is connected to two two-storey pavilions by low wings that enclose the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard used to be enclosed by an iron grille, which no longer exists today.
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