Hibernating a palace

Or why are the state rooms closed during the winter?

Image Credits

Why the palace is closed during winter

Schloss Eggenberg’s piano nobile is a “time capsule” that embodies the Baroque as it were, not only in regard to its sumptuous interiors, but also in regard to their everyday – and often inconvenient – downsides. The rooms have retained their original appearance for over 250 years. They still have no heating and no electricity, only simple windows and chandeliers with candles. In reality, however, what appears very much like a disadvantage to the modern user is the most important factor in protecting and preserving the ensemble. The natural winter closing time is the simplest and safest way to preserve the cycle of 24 state rooms for further generations. Simply the quality and extent of this authentic building fabric – the product of many historical coincidences – represents a special stroke of luck which eventually resulted in the recording of Schloss Eggenberg on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. After all, it would be hard to find such an extensive, unchanged Baroque ensemble anywhere else in the world.

From the “great theatre of the world” to the sleepy country palace
Protect, preserve and do without
Historic photograph
today

A comparison of the Baroque inventory with historical photographs around 1900 ...

... and the current state of the structure shows how little the rooms have evolved over the past 250 years.