Liechtenstein castle

About

But the intervening period saw the castle reach its full impressive extent and has remained a Liechtenstein property ever since. Under Prince Johann II it was reconstructed as a museum exhibiting sculptures and valuable reliefs from his collection. The architects were scrupulous in preserving and enhancing the castle’s original Romanesque fabric, with such success that today it’s regarded as one of the rarest and best-preserved examples of a secular Romanesque building in Europe. Great beamed ceilings, thick original walls, delicately capped towers, the ornamental variety of its highly elevated interior spaces are divided by restful softly rounded arches and the sensuous drama of the castle’s pillared main staircase. The castle’s chapel is a particular delight, a consecrated, still-functioning space built by Liechtenstein’s founder in 1130, with special significance thanks to a red chalk image, or ‘sanguine,’ depicting the Crucifixion with Mary and St John.