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The monumental Schloss Eggenberg, embedded in a spacious park, is the most important castle complex of Styria. As it is modeled on the Spanish Escorial it is at the same time an impressive representation building and an complex allegory of the universe.
Already in the 15th century, the wealthy Eggenberg dynasty owned a large estate in the west of the city of Graz which rose to new splendour around 1600 under Ruprecht von Eggenberg, „Conqueror of the Turks“, and the diplomat Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg, friend and First Minister of Emperor Ferdinand II. Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg, who was awarded the title of Imperial Prince and installed as Govenor of Inner Austria, commissioned the court architect Giovanni Pietro de Pomis to convert the medieval building into an imperial residence.
Both the architectural design as well as the plans for the decoration of the interior are based on a cycle of multi-faceted, cosmic-astrological allegories which make the castle a unique example of the strict spirituality of the early 17th century.
The building incorporates important elements of the calendar and time measurement systems from the minute to the full year (for instance, the castle has 365 windows). The magnificent cycle of 24 state rooms surround the square courtyard and depicts the history of the world and mankind in 600 ceiling paintings.
The artistic highlight of the castle is the large central Planetensaal (Planet Hall) with a cycle of paintings by the imperial court painter Hans Adam Weissenkircher depicting planets, astrological elements, star constellations and the signs of the Zodiac to glorify the Eggenberg dynasty. This festive banquet hall was commissed by Prince Johann Seyfried von Eggenberg, a generous patron of Hans Adam Weissenkircher, after 1678; he was not only a generous patron of Baroque fine arts but also of music. Among the Eggenberg court musicians are famous composers such as Biber, Motz and Fux who were given their own Baroque „Comedj-Hauß“ as a venue for their concerts. The styriarte musical events also take place in the beautiful setting of the Planet Hall.
In 1717, Eggenberg castle became the property of the Herberstein dynasty by marriage. Since 1939 it has been the property of the Province of Styria and houses different collections of the Styrian Museum Joanneum, e.g. the Prehistory Collection, the Alte Galerie, or the Coin Cabinet.