n the middle of the 13th century Artstetten was   mentioned in documents for the first time, but it is assumed that members of the Artstetter family lived there before this time. In place of the medieval keep a castle was built, which often changed owners, in 1883 it was bought by Emperor Francis 1st.

In Archduke Francis Charles (father of Emperor Francis   Joseph) became the owner of Artstetten, which he then gave to his son, Charles Louis. He transformed the castle considerably (an example is the bathroom which can be seen during the tour of the castle), for he spent most of the spring and summer in Artstetten, where he was also the mayor. From 1866 to 1867 Artstetten belonged to the rather less fortunate Emperor Maximilian of Mexico.

In Archduke Charles Louis gave Artstetten over to   his eldest son, Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Este. As most of the castles in the possession of the later Heir to the Throne, Artstetten was rebuilt to his taste. Due to the morganatic marriage of Francis Ferdinand and Sophie, his spouse and their children were barred from a burial in the Capuchin Crypt, the traditional burial place of the Habsburgs. As Francis Ferdinand wished to be buried beside his wife, he decided to build a family crypt under the castle church, this was finished in 1910. Nobody would have believed that Francis Ferdinand and Sophie were to be entombed there just four years later. Following the assassination on the 28th of June 1914, the eldest, then 12 year old son of the Heir to the Throne, Maximilian, inherited Artstetten. After the Anschluss by Hitler in 1938, both Maximilian and his brother Ernst who were known opponents of the Nazi regime were amongst the first Austrians interned in the concentration camp of Dachau and Artstetten was expropriated. It was not until 1949 that the castle was returned by the Austrian Republic. Duke Max passed Artstetten on to his eldest son Francis Hohenberg.

Following the early death of Duke Franz in 1977, his widow,   Duchess Elisabeth von Hohenberg, Princess of Luxemburg; passed the ownership of Artstetten onto her daughter, Princess Anita. In order to present a broad image to the public of the Heir to the Throne, assassinated in 1914 in Sarajevo, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand Museum was opened in the castle in 1982.