Schlosshof Freistadt mit Bergfried

Freistadt Castle with keep and castle museum

You reach the outer castle courtyard through the Gothic archway. Protected by the mighty keep - it is 50 metres high and one of the town's landmarks - is the former granary (brown-red), which now houses the youth hostel. A bricked-up door can still be clearly recognised on the outer wall. This was once the entrance to the battlements, which were part of the town's defences.

The castle was built in 1363 at the request of the Habsburgs and replaced the old castle, today's Salzhof, as the seat of the provincial governor from 1397. The nine-storey keep houses the Mühlviertel Castle Museum, which offers an insight into the lives of the townspeople throughout the 800-year history of the town. In 1880, a fire broke out in the castle, incinerating 42 houses on the north side of the town.

From the castle courtyard, you can walk through the romantic Schlossgässchen to Böhmergasse.