Grafenegg
Grafenegg is a market town (Municipality) in the Krems-Land district of Lower Austria, Austria. Originally called Etsdorf-Haitzendorf, it changed its name in 2003. Grafenegg is renowned for Grafenegg Castle, owned by the Duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey of the House of Hohenlohe. The castle grounds are the site of the Grafenegg Music Festival and sculpture garden.
Grafenegg Castle is one of the most important castle buildings of romantic historicism (19th century), the origins of the castle go back to the Middle Ages. It is the most important building of the Romantic era in Austria. In addition to the exterior of the castle, there are also interiors worth seeing such as the library, the knight 's hall , the armory and the castle chapel, as well as other various halls and salons. The Grafenegg Castle area is the scene of the internationally renowned Grafenegg Festival.
Grafenegg Festival at the Grafenegg Castle has been developed into an international cultural venue. An open-air stage "Cloud Tower" (1750 seats) and a concert hall "Auditorium" (1300 seats) were built on the site in 2007 and 2008. The Grafenegg Festival has been taking place annually since the summer of 2007 under the artistic direction of pianist Rudolf Buchbinder . The Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under the direction of chief conductor Yutaka Sado (formerly Andrés Orozco-Estrada until 2015 ) performs during the summer as the Grafenegg Festival Orchestra with international conductors and soloists. Furthermore, since 2008 the palace park has been a location for the Lower Austrian State Horticultural Show.