Schloss Porcia

Infobox building
name = Porcia Castle
native_building_name = Schloss Porcia De icon

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caption = Schloss Porcia from the "Burgplatz"
map_type =
latitude =
longitude =
location_town = Spittal an der Drau
location_country = Carinthia, Austria
architect =
client = Gabriel von Salamanca-Ortenburg
engineer =
construction_start_date = 1533
date_demolished =
cost =
structural_system =
owner = Spittal an der Drau
style = Renaissance
size =

Schloss Porcia (Porcia Castle) is a castle in Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is one of the most significant Renaissance buildings in Austria.

Construction of the edifice began in 1533 by Gabriel von Salamanca-Ortenburg, treasurer of Emperor Ferdinand I. Salamanca had received the Grafschaft Ortenburg in 1524 and commissioned the design of his residence to Italian architects. He however did not live here, as the construction in a Palazzo style continued until 1598. After the Salamanca dynasty became extinct in 1620, the patrician Widmann family acquired the castle and in 1662 ceded it to Prince Johann Ferdinand of Porcia, at this time minister of Emperor Leopold I. His descendants added Baroque elements to the façade in the 18th century, while the adjacent park was laid out in the 19th century.

The Porcia family sold the castle in 1918, that in 1951 became a property of the Spittal municipality. The famous inner arcaded court houses several Lombard-Italian sculptures and serves as a venue for the annual "Komödienspiele Porcia" festival. Furthermore the castle houses a museum for local history and is the site of several concerts and chorus recitals.

Porcia Castle is notorious for the White Lady Katharina of Salamanca, who is said to be guilty of remorselessness towards her subjects and cursed to haunt the rooms.

Weblinks

*commonscat-inline|Schloss Porcia
* [http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.p/p659509.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en aeiou Encyclopedia]