Hi and welcome to Laxenburg, just a short 20-minute drive South of Vienna.
Today I’m going to explore the Franzensburg, one of the most enchanting water castles I’ve ever come across.
It’s the place where Sissi spent her honeymoon and feels a bit like a 200-year old Disneyland.
You definitely don’t want to miss coming here when you’re in Vienna.
The Franzensburg is a water castle built between 1801 and 1836 in the style of an old castle.
Its name comes from Emperor Francis II, there last Holy Roman Emperor who dies in 1835.
He had the castle built on an artificial island next to the Castle of Laxenburg which already existed.
Stick around to the end of the video for some useful tips for your trip to Franzensburg and some aerial shots of the castle.
Let’s start the tour at the Laxenburg castle, which is built as a small palace and seems to house office buildings, exhibitions and events these days.
But back in the days, it served as a getaway palace for the monarchs.
Sissi used to ride around the park here and even her son Rudolph was born here.
While I didn’t spend much time wandering around Laxenburg castle, the palatial park in Laxenburg is super nice.
It’s a 250-hectare castle park, designed in the style of an English landscape garden in the late 18th century.
And entrance is only EUR 2.80 (~US$3.40).
You can just stroll around the various paths that lead to an artificial lake
from where you can take a ferry boat to the Franzensburg, the water castle that is the actual highlight of my visit.
The walk there takes about 20-30 minutes.
There’s also a toy train going there if walking is not your forte.
At the lake, you can grab something to eat or rent a pedal boat to cruise around the water castle.
I'm now in the park at the Franzensburg which you can just see behind me.
And the best way to get there is with a ferry boat which I will be taking.
The Franzensburg castle itself is accessed by a small ferry boat that is pulled over the lake by ropes.
It takes just a few minutes to cross the lake. The ferry costs EUR 0.70 per person each way.
There’s also a road access via a small bridge at the back of the castle but the ferry is definitely more fun.
Franzensburg which translates to Francis’ castle was never really inhabited and rather designed by Emperor Francis II. as a museum.
It was originally opened to the public in the late 1800s to present the history, manners, customs, art, lifestyle of the “ancient days of the fatherland”.
Think “Disneyland” but 200 years ago, just more realistic and with actual historic artifacts.
The castle consists of two sections, the Ritterburg and the Knappenburg which roughly translates to a section for knights and one for squires.
The tour of the castle is quite informative and fun.
It’s EUR 11 (~US$13) for adults and is definitely worth it.
And you get to see lots of interesting and original artworks that were collected by the emperor to be presented in this museum like structure.
You can see a dungeon, weapons hall, several ornate rooms spread across two floors, a Hungarian coronation hall, the castle chapel and towers.
The marble statues of the royal family are all original works of art.
The one of Empress Maria Theresa is valued at over US$1 million.
Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the castle so I can’t show you pictures from the tour.
Tours start at the hour between 10am and 4pm daily.
You can purchase the tickets at the museum shop inside the castle.
There’s also a nice restaurant that serves hearty Austrian food on the island and you’ll find clean restrooms in case you need to make a pit stop.
How do you get to Laxenburg?
The easiest way to get to Laxenburg is to take bus line 200 that leaves from the station Südtiroler Platz-Hauptbahnhof in Vienna which is also a U1 metro line stop.
A one-way ticket costs about US$5.
The trip takes about 25 minutes.
You can also take a train which leaves from Vienna’s Main Train Station to Laxenburg-Biedermannsdorf on an hourly basis and costs about the same.
But I’d recommend the bus as it takes you closer to the castle.
Lastly, you can of course drive there in about 20 minutes.
There is ample free parking at Laxenburg castle.
How much time should you factor in?
I’d say, a visit to Laxenburg is a nice 1/2-day excursion from Vienna
but you can also make its a day trip if you plan to have lunch there and want to do some additional activities like pedal boat tours, or do some more walking.
You can also grab a lawn chair to relax in the shade under one of the massive trees.
So is it worth visiting Franzensburg in Laxenburg? I’d say yes, definitely.
If you have some extra time in Vienna and you want to get out of the city a bit, catch some fresh air and visit a truly enchanting water castle, definitely check it out.
It was refreshingly empty compared to Schoenbrunn Palace
and it still seems a bit of a secret as many travelers don’t know about it.
I certainly can highly recommend. Check this out.
Okay, that was my little tour to Franzensburg in Laxenburg.
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