Old bishop’s seat – Seggau Castle shines in Christmas splendor

Once we leave the dense mist in the valley and the twisting winding hills behind us, Seggau Castle rises before us, bathed in blinding light. The air above Southern Styria is clear, we breathe icy air that the sun can hardly warm. You automatically think of the ancient church leaders and their brilliant builders, who knew centuries ago: this is the most beautiful place to build a bishop’s see for eternity.

But a time-honored building that has withstood icy snowstorms, brutal heavy rains and wild gusts of wind since the Middle Ages and will still tower over Leibnitz in a thousand years must be kept in good condition. However, it had been so long since the historic upper castle was last repaired that nothing useful could be found about it in the church chronicle.

The ravages of time destroyed the old walls, resulting in crumbling cornices and plasterwork, rotten window frames, broken roof tiles and cracks in the brickwork. As a result, the Diocese of Graz-Seckau decided to carry out a general renovation of the extensive complex this year – and just in time for the holidays, a major tick can be completed on the most urgent construction work.

“Fresh cell treatment” for the ancient walls
“The first of three construction phases has now been completed. The clock tower in the courtyard, the ‘Liesl’ tower with Styria’s largest historic clock and parts of the old fortress walls will also be renovated by 2026,” reports director Andrea Kager-Schwar, taking us on a tour of the upper castle. Diocesan Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl, whose second apartment is located a few rooms away outside the capital Graz, waits in the arcade – the “fresh cell treatment” has clearly benefited him the Styrian shepherds end up in Seggau?

A secret door led Bishop into the chapel unnoticed
Let’s turn back the wheel of time 1164 years. In 860 the Archbishopric of Salzburg took over the area, and in the 12th century the upper castle was built as a mission and administrative bastion for the colonization of southern Styria. In 1218, Archbishop Eberhard II of Salzburg founded the diocese of Seckau and made Seggau Castle the episcopal seat of the Styrian bishops (Seggau is derived from the Abbey of Seckau in Upper Styria). “It used to be used as a so-called canteen to support the diocesan bishop,” Kager-Schwar explains. Graz did not become the headquarters until 1786 and Seggau remained the episcopal summer residence until the 20th century.

When Bishop Krautwaschl opens the doors of the Prince’s Chambers in the Upper Castle, once beautiful representative rooms of the Prince-Bishop, we get an impression of the long history that this sacred building breathes: a seemingly endless gallery of paintings by his predecessors in the office of the bishop. decorates the baroque walls. In the center there is a secret door – allowing unnoticed access for the bishop and his guests to the gallery in the chapel in the upper castle.

Christmas message: “Don’t be afraid!”
The hotel and conference center, where Seggau is also located, is the end point of the ‘restoration journey’. A decorated Christmas tree in the breakfast room puts the guests in the Christmas spirit. “Given the many crises, the Christmas message for me this year is ‘Do not be afraid’, as the angel said to the shepherds in the field,” Krautwaschl emphasizes. “Don’t be afraid, I’m with you, trust me no matter what.”

The bishop’s second message is one of hope. “The major concerns about jobs, a bad economic situation, war and terror: despite all these various crises, believers can persevere in critical situations if they look to God.” From a global perspective we are not doing badly, but from an objective perspective personal feelings do not help.

“Despite everything, I want to remind you: let’s look at the big picture. For example, the Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv in Ukraine sends me photos of life during the war every few weeks. I can live and not just survive if I have hope, pass it on and tell people about it,” says Krautwaschl.