<center><h4>BAROCKSCHLOSS RIEGERSBURG</h4>since 2017 renamed to SCHLOSS RUEGERS<br>to avoid confusion with a fortress castle of the same name in Styria</center>
In the past 10 Years, I had visited this place several times, to see art exhibits, and also as a participating artist. The very last time was 2016 at the last exhibition held prior to the retirement of Francesca Gräfin Pilati. That year I also attended her birthday (and retirement) party, where for the first time I had the privilege to view the other wing of the castle that served as a museum.
<center><br><sup>Late October 2016 - view from the castle grounds over the lake</sup></center>
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<center>Some exterior views</center>
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<center>Tour of the interior</center>
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<br><sup>◄ the castle has it's own chapel</sup>
These are just a few of the images I took. Since the castle is changing hands (more about this below) I don't know if there are still tours available.
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<center><h4>ART EXHIBITIONS AT THE RIEGERSBURG</h4>
<sup>[Blickpunkt Abstrakt 2016 - see a collection of photos in my Flickr album](https://www.flickr.com/photos/artofthemystic/albums/72157675757195356)</sup>
<br><b>[Kunst im Schloss](https://www.burghardegg.at/schloss-riegersburg/kunst-im-schloss/)</b> <br><sup> this link is in German, there you find links to pages of all the past art events</sup></center>
<sup>unless otherwise noted, these are my own photos</sup>
<center><b>The Exhibition ["EINFACH PHANTASTISCH"](https://www.burghardegg.at/schloss-riegersburg/kunst-im-schloss/2015-einfach-phantastisch/) - 2015</b></center>
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<sup>Cornelia Mensdorff-Pouilly and [Francesca Gräfin Pilati](https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-gr%C3%A4fin-pilati-8306252a/?originalSubdomain=at) </sup>
<sup>my own photo, with [Cornelia Mensdorff-Pouilly](https://noev1.orf.at/magazin/daheiminnoe/kulinarium/stories/113308/index.html) and [Nikolaus Neureiter](https://www.nikolausneureiter.at/)</sup>
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<sup>opening of the Exhibition ["Einfach Phantastisch"](https://www.burghardegg.at/schloss-riegersburg/kunst-im-schloss/2015-einfach-phantastisch/)</sup>
<br><sup>photo courtesy Nikolaus Neureiter - with my friends Cornelia and [Zdenka Infeld](https://www.thomastik-infeld.com/de/unternehmen/team) - in the photo on the left that I took, Nikolaus is seen at the table in the Cafe at the castle.</sup>
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<center>some select images from the [Exhibition EINFACH PHANTASTISCH](https://www.flickr.com/photos/artofthemystic/albums/721576507122807239)</center>
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<center>In 2013, I exhibited my work at the exhibition<br>[DOLLAR, SCHÄTZE UND KUNST](https://www.burghardegg.at/schloss-riegersburg/kunst-im-schloss/2013-dollar-sch%C3%A4tze-und-kunst/)<br>
<br><sup>with my sister, in front of 3 of my drawings</sup>
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The Year before, in 2012, I exhibited at [IMAGO - Phantastic Art](https://www.burghardegg.at/schloss-riegersburg/kunst-im-schloss/2012-imago-phantastic-art/) - posted with many photos on the Visionary Art Gallery site: [IMAGO - BAROCKSCHLOSS RIEGERSBURG](https://www.vagallery.com/imago---schloss-riegersburg.html)
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<center>10 Years ago:<br>My first visit to the Barockschloss Riegersburg the year 2011 when I returned to Austria</center>
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<center><sup>I took the above photos the first time I visited October 2011</sup></center>
<center><br>Recent News: New Owners!<br>https://www.noen.at/image/1920x1080-jpg-noen/3913774/22.jpg<sup>[Source](https://www.noen.at/hollabrunn/immobilien-helnwein-hallmann-neu-eigentuemer-von-schloss-ruegers-hardegg-immobilien-kultur-niederoesterreich-290110383)</sup><br><b>[Helnwein, Hallmann: Neu-Eigentümer von Schloss Ruegers](https://www.noen.at/hollabrunn/immobilien-helnwein-hallmann-neu-eigentuemer-von-schloss-ruegers-hardegg-immobilien-kultur-niederoesterreich-290110383)<br>Helnwein, Hallmann: New Owners of Schloss Ruegers</b><br>
September 10th 2021<br>According to a broadcast on Friday, artist Gottfried Helnwein and real estate entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann jointly acquired the baroque Ruegers Castle in Riegersburg in the Hardegg community (Hollabrunn district).
<br><sup>[Source](https://www.noen.at/hollabrunn/immobilien-helnwein-hallmann-neu-eigentuemer-von-schloss-ruegers-hardegg-immobilien-kultur-niederoesterreich-290110383)</sup><sup>[Source](https://www.noen.at/hollabrunn/immobilien-helnwein-hallmann-neu-eigentuemer-von-schloss-ruegers-hardegg-immobilien-kultur-niederoesterreich-290110383)</sup><br>The sale was also reported by ORF News<br> [Schloss Ruegers: Neue prominente Besitzer / Ruegers Castle: New prominent owners](https://noe.orf.at/stories/3120804/)</center>
I quote the following from this article and translate it to English:
> <b>Artist Gottfried Helnwein and real estate entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann have acquired the Baroque Ruegers Castle in Hardegg (Hollabrunn district). They want to turn the 16th century building into a “place of creativity”.</b>
> The new owners sent out information about their plans for the recently acquired Ruegers Castle, which was formerly known as Riegersburg. The two of them say they want to sustainably renovate the 16th century building on the border with the Czech Republic - including photovoltaics and geothermal energy. It is then intended to serve as a “place of creativity and cultural creation”.
The artist Gottfried Helnwein found Ruegers Castle to be a suitable place for creative artists.
<br><sup>[Source Wikipedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Life_Ball_2013_-_magenta_carpet_Gottfried_Helnwein_01.jpg#/media/File:Life_Ball_2013_-_magenta_carpet_Gottfried_Helnwein_01.jpg)</sup>
> "I am convinced that a new cultural monument of special value will be created here: historically valuable and at the same time a prime example of the modern, sustainable restoration of old buildings," says real estate entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann. According to the broadcast, he has been friends with Helnwein for years. Hallmann is also considered a collector of Modern Art works of art - including Helnwein's works.
<center><br><sup>Helnwein and Hallmann - [Source](https://www.noen.at/hollabrunn/immobilien-helnwein-hallmann-neu-eigentuemer-von-schloss-ruegers-hardegg-immobilien-kultur-niederoesterreich-290110383#290110383-290110383,290112934)</sup></center>
> [Gottfried Helnwein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Helnwein), born in Vienna, has lived abroad since 1985 and currently lives alternately in his [Irish Castle Gurteen de la Poer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Gurteen_de_la_Poer) and in Los Angeles in the USA. “It was through this spatial and temporal distance that I really became aware of how deeply I am rooted in Austria's cultural tradition. As an artist, it is therefore important to me to give important architecture from the past such as here in Ruegers Castle a new shine, ”he explained.
<sup>[Source](https://noe.orf.at/stories/3120804/)</sup>
According to historical records, Ruegers Castle was first mentioned in 1212, 1390 or 1427, depending on the source. In 1568, Count Sigmund von Hardegg began to convert the castle into a baroque moated castle. The property, located in Riegersburg in the municipality of Hardegg (Hollabrunn district), changed hands several times and belonged to the Counts of Khevenmüller for almost two centuries. Most recently it was owned by Count Pilati von Thassul zu Daxberg.<br>
The building was partially renovated for the Lower Austrian provincial exhibition "Family - Ideal and Reality" in 1993. Over the past 20 years, Ruegers Castle has repeatedly been the location for exhibitions, theater performances and cinema productions.
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I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, as well as the news about exciting times ahead. I hope it does work out with the plans that Gottfried Helnwein has for this place that has such a rich cultural history.
Searching my files for images I find that there are many I remember, but they must be lost on a crashed laptop. There were some I found on my websites where I had posted them before.
[//]:# (!pinmapple 48.854500 lat 15.771618 long d3scr)
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<br><sup>at the Fuchs Villa in Vienna</sup>
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