Stelzer Inn

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Gasthaus Stelzer around 1900

The Gasthaus Stelzer was a pub with a hotel in the 19th and 20th centuries in Rodaun , the then suburb of Vienna , today part of the 23rd Viennese district of Liesing . In the 19th century, the restaurant with the associated thermal bath was a popular excursion destination for Viennese society and was accordingly dubbed the “Wirtshaus von Österreich”. The inn gained a prominent position during the First World War as a Kuk war press headquarters . Due to its popularity, the inn gave its name to many properties in the vicinity, such as the newly opened Stelzer bath from 1932 and the Stelzerhof residential complex built in 1966.

Before the First World War

The restaurant was run by the Lehner family in the 19th century before Johann Stelzer (1852–1924) married the daughter of the Lehner family and took over, expanded and managed the restaurant, the bathroom and the hotel with his wife.

The restaurant on the outskirts of Vienna established itself as a popular excursion destination for Viennese society thanks to Johann Stelzer's hard work with the honorary title Wirtshaus von Österreich. It was considered a meeting place for aristocrats, politicians and people with influence who enjoyed Rodaun, the guest house and the thermal bath (also known as the “Stelzer Bad”) as a nearby health resort at the gates of Vienna. Cross-references to the Gasthaus Stelzer can be found in literary works, where it is often mentioned as a setting.

The War Press Headquarters (KPQ)

This memorial plaque on the outer shell of the Stelzer Hof in Vienna's Ketzergasse No. 473 is a reminder of the former location of the historic guest house of the Stelzer / Lehner family.

Historically, the Stelzer Inn experienced its greatest significance during the First World War . On the day of Austria-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia, on July 28, 1914, the imperial and royal war press quarters (KPQ) were set up in the Stelzer inn . The war press headquarters was founded to coordinate military propaganda in a targeted manner and to disseminate it to the population at home and abroad via the media of the time.

In total, over 550 artists, journalists and authors were accommodated in the war press headquarters during the war. Among them were well-known names such as Rainer Maria Rilke , who lived in the Gasthaus Stelzer until his discharge from military service, Hugo von Hofmannsthal , Franz Werfel and Robert Musil - to name just a few.

The fact that the KPQ was housed in such an illustrious location as the Gasthaus Stelzer also caused scorn and ridicule. Karl Kraus commented in the torch :

“The press had been moved to Rodaun in order to give Mr. Hofmannsthal with the front. ” In an earlier issue of the torch he noted: “ It is known that the voluntarily unsuitable members of the journalistic trade, which were also joined by a few mediocre but otherwise healthy master painters, were captured at the beginning of the war and in one were locked in a separate room, the war press quarters, a room whose access is only allowed to the unemployed there. "

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At the end of the First World War, the war press quarters in the Gasthaus Stelzer were also closed, with today's Austria Press Agency (APA) emerging as the direct successor to the war press quarters .

After the First World War

In 1966, the “Stelzer Hof” residential complex was built where the Gasthaus Stelzer used to be.

After the First World War, the well-known Viennese inn became quiet. In 1960 the decision was finally made to demolish the inn, which was moved in 1961.

Six years after the demolition, a residential complex called Stelzer Hof was built at Ketzergasse No. 473. To this day, a memorial plaque adorns the house wall as a reminder of the historic inn with the inscription:

“The Rodaun bathhouse with a chapel of St. Anna has stood here since ancient times. The sulphurous mineral water of this popular bath was highly valued as a healing spring. The famous alchemist Friedrich Sehfeld lived and experimented here in the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, Johann and Antonie Stelzer turned the inn, which was connected to the bathing establishment, into a modern restaurant, which subsequently became widely known as the 'Wirtshaus von Österreich' as ​​a meeting place for Viennese society. During the First World War the house was used as a war press headquarters. In 1960/61 the old building was removed and this modern residential complex was built in 1966. "

- Dedicated by Paula Maresch-Stelzer

Web links

Commons : Gasthaus Stelzer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Stelzerbad in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  2. ^ A b Alfred Walk: Rodaun Heimatkunde. Retrieved February 18, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Rodaun's story on geocaching.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018 .
  4. ^ Karl Kraus, Freiin Sidonie Nádherny von Borutin: Letters to Sidonie Nádherný von Borutin, 1913-1936 . Wallstein Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-89244-934-8 ( google.at [accessed on February 18, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Andrea Stangl: "A room whose access is only permitted to those who are not employed there" . In: The First World War . May 31, 2014 ( habsburger.net [accessed February 18, 2018]).
  6. ↑ history. Retrieved February 18, 2018 .

Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 1.9 ″  N , 16 ° 15 ′ 15.6 ″  E