Apartment

Gut Hornegg

Preding, Styria, Austria

From Gut Hornegg, guests have a wonderful view of the sky, old park trees, the vineyard or the ponds in the valley. The great sight continues inside the old castle: walls up to 1.5 meters thick, beautiful old wooden windows, magnificent stone and wooden floors. Each of the rooms has its own character and has been furnished with old furniture that was previously used in the manor. New ones were added, resulting in a place with a patina. The apartments radiate a special atmosphere, as the signs of use over the centuries are visible, but in a charming way.

Hornegg Castle was founded around 1200 by the Hornecker family of knights. Around 1550, the old knight's castle was converted into a Renaissance castle by their descendants, the Saurauers. For more than 150 years, Hornegg served as the summer residence of the monks of the Augustinian monastery in Stainz. Fish farming also goes back to this period. The last great reformer of Hornegg was Daniel von Lapp, the railway pioneer from Germany. He developed Hornegg into a well-known model estate and gave the castle its current appearance.

The castle was first mentioned in documents around 1230. In 2017, the renovation of the first holiday apartment in the castle began under the direction of hostess Marie-Theres Holler, who is a carpenter, farmer and architect. There are now three apartments that she rents out together with her family. Marie-Theres' brother is happy to show guests around the organic fish farm, and time permitting it's sometimes possible to book a meal with her sister.

The vision of the siblings is to be able to preserve the house and the magnificent manor and breathe new life into the rooms. They want to show how little it is possible to create a great atmosphere. Marie-Theres would like to make her birthplace palatable to guests and show how carefully she runs Gut Hornegg.


Rooms + Rates

per night
Apartmentfrom110 €

Sustainable

ArchitectureAttempts have always been made to use only natural materials such as brick, clay and lime. Plastic was deliberately not installed, which was not always easy, but thanks to a lot of research, alternatives were found. For example, the windows are not varnished but have only been treated with linseed oil. The conversion took place in cooperation with craftsmen from the area.

Only employees from the region are employed at Gut Hornegg. Every day, the hosts eat together with their employees and they also go to gymnastics together once a week - both at the expense of the company, of course. In addition, a housing project for women in life crises is supported: Once a year, the residents of the project take a week's free holiday at Gut Hornegg.

EnvironmentThe house is heated with its own wood, in the form of a so-called component storage heating system, which is particularly energy-saving. All the furniture is assembled from upcycling projects. Ecological agents made from linseed oil and soft soap are used for cleaning. Thanks to the estate's own Pflanzenkläranlage (plant wastewater treatment plant), all of the estate's wastewater is purified through biological degradation processes. In this way, the estate's own source of drinking water has been created on site.

The estate is a certified organic farm. It is also a member of the Austrian Historic House Association. The topics of environmental protection and sustainability have occupied the hosts all their business lives, which is why they are very happy when conversations about them arise with their guests.

Well-BeingOn the roof of the former estate nursery, which is also on the grounds, there is a small "wellness house" with a sauna. Guests can look forward to swimming in the on-site lake.


Characteristics

  • A 13th-century manor that today operates fish farming, forestry, holiday apartments and viticulture
  • Located between the Sausal and Schilcherland wine regions
  • 18 hectare pond in the middle of nature - also for bathing for the guests
  • Sustainable fish farming of old fish species
  • Certified organic farm with its own source of drinking water
  • Fish, dogs, deer and birds live on the premises
  • Organic fish and wine can be obtained from our own cultivation
  • Annual big farm festival
  • Many excursion possibilities in the area: the wonderful Lipizaner Stud Puber, the unique open-air museum for old architecture in Stübing, various magnificent palaces, monasteries, castles and monasteries (including Riegersburg, Eggenberg, Stainz)
  • Southern Styria also offers the opportunity to go on bike tours, canoe trips and hikes through the Sausal vineyards

Apartments5 apartmentsOwn cooking facilitiesChildren welcomeWi-Fino disabled accessPoolNature PoolPets allowed

Features

  • 5 apartments for 2 to 8 people
  • 3 apartments in the castle and 2 apartments in the former garden center
  • All apartments with their own kitchen
  • All apartments with their own outdoor area (arbor, balcony, roof terrace or garden)
  • Wellness house with sauna
  • Own lake
  • Farm shop with fish and wine tasting
  • Only 30 minutes away from Graz

Testimonials

Das knapp achthundert Jahre alte, einst Salzburger Augustiner-Chorherren gehörende Gut Hornegg mit seinem verwitterten, verwunschenen, geradewegs aus einem Brüder-Grimm-Märchen herbeigezauberten Renaissance-Schlösschen liegt inmitten einer Waldlandschaft, in der sich Teiche voller Karpfen, Zander, Hechte, Rotaugen, Schleien und Welse wie glitzernde Schatztruhen verstecken. So sauber sei das Wasser, sagt Jörg Holler, dass sein Sohn Heinrich noch nicht einmal die Karpfen vor dem Schlachten auswässern müsse, um ihnen ihren modrigen Hautgout auszutreiben.

Jakob Strobel y Serra, faz.net, February 2023

Certificates + Awards

Trigos

Auszeichnung für verantwortungsvolles Wirtschaften 2019

Bio Austria

Mitglied

Visit Website

Rooms + Rates

per night
Apartmentfrom110 €

Location + Directions

By car

It takes about 30 minutes to drive from Graz to Gut Hornegg (30 km). It takes just under 2.5 hours from Vienna (218 km), from Munich a good 4.5 hours (412 km), from Passau it is a good 3 hours (306 km) and from Salzburg you also need a good 3 hours the ride (303 km). The exact address can be found on the website.

With public transport

The nearest train stations are in Preding-Wieselsdorf and Hengsberg. Guests are happy to be picked up from there.