Many epochs of architectural art have left their traces in Grafenegg and, with their specific features, have resulted in the stimulating mix of styles that makes up the particular charm of the overall ensemble of castle and park: Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Historicism and the 21st century architecture equally characterize the location, whose first documentary mention dates back to the late 13th century.
The neo-Gothic style castle with its stepped gables, arcades, and oriels, which despite its impressive size conveys a floating lightness, was built in the midth century out of a Renaissance castle that had already been remodelled, rebuilt, and expanded several times. The oldest architectural testimony of Grafenegg's year-old history is the mill at the Kamp, which was still in operation until the First World War. The revitalized Garden pavilion in the west of the park, on the other hand, contains stories of baroque cheerfulness.
Today, bridal couples tie the knot in this pavilion, which also served as a theatre stage in the 19th century.
The Wolkenturm in the park and the Auditorium between the castle tavern and the Reitschule stand in intriguing exchange with the diverse historical structure, which also includes the Meierhof or the four ramparts of the castle wall. These two impressive, newly built venues, whose construction marked the beginning of Grafenegg's most recent era as a musical site, are considered prime examples of successful concert architecture at the height of the present day. The meter tall Wolkenturm, which blends into a natural basin of the Castle Grounds and at the same time boldly rises above them, is one of the best open-air stages in Europe.
Since the Grafenegg Festival was founded in , this distinctive structure of concrete, steel and glass has shaped the scenery of Grafenegg in a similarly strong way as the historicist architecture of the castle. Old and new contrast each other in these two buildings.
