In Burgenland, the tranquil wine region where life revolves around Lake Neusiedl, this baroque palace celebrates the Advent tradition in glorious style.
Just a short drive from Vienna, Halbturn (pop. 1,856) is the sort of town that decorates a towering evergreen on its main square, while adorning a smaller tree with bread crumbs—for the birds. Halbturn Palace, which stands proudly amid one of Austria’s oldest vineyards, makes this small-town charmer even more irresistible. The palace, built in 1711 by Lukas von Hildebrandt, was a summer residence and sporting retreat for the Emperor and his household. Today, one of its most stunning features remains the central hall’s ceiling fresco, “Triumph of Light,” originally painted by baroque artist Franz Anton Maulbertsch.
During the 2d and 3d Advent weekends in December, it’s the Pannonian Christmas Market that draws all eyes. There’s something about strolling around an imperial courtyard on a crisp winter eve, the scent of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts warming your spirits. At more than fifty artisan stalls, you’ll find beautiful hand-knit scarves, ethereal blown and painted glass, beeswax tapered candles scented with honey, and local farmers selling hearty baked breads and aged cheese, sugar-dusted cookies and gingerbread. Stop at one of the Punsch stands for a mug of sweet wine mulled with spices or tea spiked with schnapps. If fine wine is more your style, duck into the newly designed Vinothek (wine cellar) to sample award-winning wines from the surrounding vineyards.
http://www.schlosshalbturn.com/schloss/homepage/folgeseite.htm (German)
