Photos courtesy of Schlosshotel Rosenau
Built in a Renaissance style in the late 16th century and rebuilt in a baroque style 200 years later, the Freemasons once lodged here until their order was dissolved under Emperor Josef II.
Pamela’s Perspective
Zwettl is off the beaten tourist path, and that’s good news for those who want to enjoy a typical Austrian small town experience. Located in the Waldviertel, or a forest district of Lower Austria, you’ll find hills and meadows dotted by the ruins of castles, palaces, and abbeys.
Schlosshotel Rosenau
A 16th-century castle
Contact
Schloss Rosenau, 1
A-3924 Zwettl
(Lower Austria)
Tel: ++43 (0) 2822 582 210
Hotel website
Reserve with Booking.com
Fast facts
5 double rooms; 12 suites
Double rooms: from 148 euros
Suites: from 200 euros
Rates include breakfast, tax,
and service
Open: all year with three-week closure in January
Getting there
Zwettl is about 130 km. northwest of Vienna, where routes B-36 and B-38 intersect. Trains from Vienna leave from Franz Josef Haupbahnhof, and you must change at Schwarzenau. The hotel runs a shuttle to the train station. Buses also reach Zwettl.
What to do
On site: sauna; tennis; Freemason museum
Nearby: bicycling; hiking; golf;
horseback riding
Weddings
Yes. Chapel and registry office on site; carriages
Schloss Rosenau is one of those special places that is half museum and half hotel. A reception desk just through the entryway serves both functions.
Even if you come only to visit the museum, take time to enjoy a lunch outside on the terrace with a view that extends across the meadow to a small lake. Just near the front entrance is a charming rural dining room with built-in benches.
Some guest rooms overlook the lake and meadow and are decorated in white-washed walls with either pine furniture or antique beds.
As befits its name, rose gardens highlight the grounds.
Something special
Austrian Freemason Museum
Lovely parish church with a ceiling fresco attributed to Austrian artist Paul Troger (1698-1762)