Kurhaus Semmering
The Kurhaus Semmering is a spa hotel in Semmering that was completed in 1909 . It is one of the landscape-related monumental buildings that were erected here at the turn of the 20th century. Together with the Südbahnhotel and the Hotel Panhans , the Kurhaus was the focus of social activities in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and in Austria during the interwar period . It is on the list of listed objects in Semmering (Lower Austria) .
Exterior
In 1907 Karoline von Neumann, the widow of the architect Franz von Neumann , together with the former primary physician and high altitude therapy specialist Dr. Franz Hansy decided to build a health resort. Karoline von Neumann herself lived on the Semmering, where her late husband had planned and developed many villas that give Semmering its typical character to this day. She was therefore very familiar with the building site in the climatically favorable location above the Wolfsbergkogel train station and the view of the Sonnwendstein from there .
The two architects Franz von Krauss and Josef Tölk , whose atelier was one of the most successful in Austria-Hungary at the turn of the 20th century, were hired to plan the building . The buildings they realized included residential houses and villas in Austria and what was then Bohemia, as well as utility buildings such as the Franzensbrücke and theaters such as the Vienna Volksoper , the Wiener Kammerspiele and the Vienna Citizens' Theater .
The Kurhaus Semmering was laid out by Krauss and Tölk as a reinforced concrete structure and is therefore at the turn of architecture from historicism to strict, functionalist modernity , and not just because of its exterior . Externally, there is an interplay of Heimatstil elements , castle architecture and decorative Art Nouveau . The building was specially oriented to the southeast, surrounded by large forests, it was at the same time a symbol of peace and seclusion as well as movement and a new beginning.
With its distinctive exterior design in the best, sunny location on Semmering, the Kurhaus with its equipment and furnishings was a prime example of the spacious and elegant spa facilities, as described by Thomas Mann in the Zauberberg , although the house, which was designed as a spa hotel, does not have a pulmonary hospital in it Sense was. The clientele in question were subtly referred to the famous sanatoriums in the region, such as the Wienerwald sanatorium or the Hochegg sanatorium.
interior
Inside, the up to 120 spa guests were given an abundance of different rooms, which, through their detailed design, mediated between the function of a spa and that of a luxury hotel. There were very spacious rooms with bathrooms on the so-called mezzanine floor, while there were twice as many smaller rooms on the first floor. The room furnishings were kept in white, in keeping with the character of a spa building, and boxes and chests of drawers were specially designed to be functional. An elegant reading room, a music room as well as a billiards and games room were available to the guests. The game was supposed to serve recreation and amusement, so playing for larger sums of money was forbidden. During the day there were also opportunities for tennis or golf, as well as for gymnastics and exercise in the fresh air.
Despite two world wars in which the Kurhaus functioned as a convalescent home or Wehrmacht hospital and later as a quarters for the Soviet occupying forces on the border with the British zone, the interiors are largely preserved. The interior decor is related to Otto Wagner , the railings and flower baskets in the staircase indicate the geometric Art Nouveau style used by Josef Hoffmann , who designed similar elements for his utility buildings ( Sanatorium Purkersdorf ). The luxurious dining room is true to the original, it houses a fountain, mosaics, wall paneling and sideboards. The original lights and Thonet armchairs made of stained natural wood are still there. The former white breakfast room has also been preserved.
Salon, 1st floor (August 2016)
former dining room (August 2016)
former breakfast room (August 2016)
Prominent guests
Among the guests of the Kurhaus were many writers, directors, actors and publishers, including Max Reinhardt and Arthur Schnitzler , Anton Wildgans , Raoul Auernheimer , Jakob Wassermann , Otto Brahm , Gerhart Hauptmann , Ernst Lothar , Peter Altenberg and Franz Werfel . The daughter of Alma Mahler-Werfels , Anna Mahler , was quartered here during an illness and got to know her future husband Paul Zsolnay better. The actor Josef Kainz spent the last weeks before his death in the Kurhaus in 1910, where he was visited by Hermann Bahr in July 1910 .
In the interwar period, singers such as Leo Slezak , Jan Kiepura with his wife Martha Eggerth , the actresses Liane Haid and Renate Müller , the pianist Otto Schulhof , Cardinal Theodor Innitzer and Pauline Horthy, the daughter of the Hungarian Governor Miklós Horthy, were guests at the Kurhaus.
use
During the Second World War, the Kurhaus was converted into an army hospital, in which high levels of the German Wehrmacht, such as Field Marshal Rommel , were treated.
After the Second World War, the Soviet occupation administration kept the barely damaged Kurhaus occupied. The border to the British zone ran exactly at the Semmeringer Pass.
In the 1950s, the interior was redesigned; until 1988 the Kurhaus was used as a rest home for federal employees. In 1994 it came into the possession of the construction company Anton Kallinger and VAMED for the purpose of adapting it to a health hotel. In the early 2000s, the Kurhaus went bankrupt to BAWAG .
In summer 2007, the performance of the interactive drama took place in the Kurhaus Alma - a Show Biz to the end of Joshua Sobol , directed by Paulus Manker held that the lives of the artists muse Alma Mahler-Werfel has to content that in the immediate area in Breitenstein her Owned a summer house and was a guest at the Kurhaus several times. For this, the interior of the building was partially renovated and furnished in a historical style, the scenes of the play were played simultaneously on three floors and outdoors. The decorator Nina Ball was nominated for the Nestroy Theater Prize for the "development of the Kurhaus Semmering" in 2007 .
In autumn 2007 the spa house was sold to a Kazakh consortium. As a result, further cultural events took place in the house. From 2011 to 2018, the Semmering cultural association organized the annual "Festival am Semmering" in the Kurhaus after the association had carried out a substantial structural renovation.
On December 14, 2019, it was reported that the Graz hotelier Florian Weitzer bought the Kurhotel Semmering and would like to revitalize it in cooperation with ecoplus , the business agency of Lower Austria, and operate it again as a hotel. A multi-year planning phase for the renovation of the listed building is expected.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.festivalamsemmering.at/
- ^ Semmering cultural summer without the Kurhaus. In: oe1.orf.at. July 2, 2019, accessed July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Kurhaus Semmering wants to open again orf.at, December 14, 2019, accessed December 14, 2019 - with reference to an ecoplus broadcast on the same day.
Web links
- History and photo gallery of the Kurhaus
- Panoramic shots
- View of the Kurhaus on aeiou
- "Alma" performance in the historic Kurhaus
Coordinates: 47 ° 39 ′ 8 ″ N , 15 ° 49 ′ 35 ″ E