Eckhenperg

Balthasar Eggenberger purchased the “Orthof” on the fields of Algersdorf, just one mile to the west of the city of Graz before 1464. Over the following years he had this fortified manor house extensively converted and expanded. At present only little can be said regarding the appearance of the family’s ancestral seat. It probably consisted of a free-standing square tower and an L-shaped building. A small sanctuary of the Virgin Mary was constructed in the tower prior to 1470 and it was furnished with a precious winged altar.

Generations to follow also carried out numerous alterations to the building, but it wasn’t until Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg became an important statesman that this modest family seat no longer reflected his and his family’s newfound status. Conversion of the old castle began in 1625; the medieval sections were, however, not dismantled, but cleverly incorporated into the new residence. This was partly due to the economic necessity to save on building materials, but also due to his apparent desire to keep the “family seat” and thus not destroy the family’s dynastic inheritance.

A few older building structures dating back to the 15th and 16th century are still being discovered today. In the rear wings of the palace there are some older façades, a portal and window framings with coloured façade designs. The gothic chapel with the sanctuary of the Virgin Mary on the second floor of the tower actually remained unchanged and even became the very core of the new palace.