Picturesquely situated on a tiny island in Lake Traunsee, Ort Castle owes much of its fame to a German-Austrian television series: For eight years, from 1996 to 2004, the "Schlosshotel Orth" (Orth Castle Hotel) was the setting for a series about living, loving, and marrying. To this day, the series remains a major draw, attracting numerous visitors to the lakeside castle every year.Ort Castle is not only one of the oldest buildings in the Salzkammergut region, but it also has fascinating stories to tell: for example, the legend of the giant Erla, who is said to have built the castle out of love for the Traunsee mermaid Blondchen. And from the first historically recorded owner, the knight Hartneid von Ort, to the cruel Count Herbestorff, and finally to the Habsburg Archduke Johann Nepomuk Salvator, many a colorful personality has resided here.Since 1995, Ort Castle has once again been owned by the municipality of Gmunden and is open to the public as both a museum and an event venue.