Purkersdorf Sanatorium

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General view from the east

The Sanatorium Purkersdorf is a building built as a sanatorium in Purkersdorf . It was built in 1904/05 by the architect Josef Hoffmann for the general director of the Schlesische Eisenwerke Gleiwitz , Victor Zuckerkandl , and is considered an outstanding example of architecture in the style of the Vienna Secession .

sanatorium

In 1903, Zuckerkandl acquired the property on the city limits of Vienna as a "water sanatorium including spa gardens" in order to expand it. A healing spring has been bubbling on the site since the 19th century . The original furniture came from the Wiener Werkstätte , in which Hoffmann was also involved. Most of it disappeared in the course of Aryanization in 1938 or finally during the Soviet requisition as a military hospital after 1945.

The sanatorium was more of a hotel than a hospital and soon became a social and artistic meeting place for Viennese society. The guests included: Arthur Schnitzler , Egon Friedell , Gustav Mahler , Arnold Schönberg , Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Kolo Moser . Treatment methods included spa treatments, physical therapies, therapeutic massage and therapeutic gymnastics. Convalescence cases and nervous diseases, especially of the upper layers , were treated . The new fashion diseases nervousness and hysteria were to be cured through calm, light and air, the rationality of the layout and the ornament reduced to a minimum . The guests were entertained in the reading room, playroom for card games, table tennis, billiards and music room.

In 1926, against the will of Josef Hoffmann, architect Leopold Bauer made an increase in view of the large amount of space required, which decisively impaired the original artistic concept.

After Victor Zuckerkandl's death in 1927, the sanatorium was taken over by his nephews and nieces. From 1930, a son-in-law continued to run the business with little success. Trude Zuckerkandl tried to renovate the ailing company in 1938. Before an economic recovery, Austria was "connected" in March 1938 and then the sanatorium was Aryanized. Towards the end of the Second World War , the building served as a hospital. In 1945 it was requisitioned by the Red Army .

hospital

The Evangelical Church acquired the building in 1952 and converted it into a hospital. Part of the house was used as a nursing home. During the renovation, the old pavilions had to be demolished because they were dilapidated. Operations ceased in 1975. The building and park remained unused for a long time and fell into disrepair.

Until April 1984 the adjoining "Paula Villa" was used as a nursing home and the other three pavilions as a senior citizens' home. In the hospital building, only the kitchen was in use.

Necessary conversions and modern adaptations failed due to a lack of public funding, because the location was also a competence problem. Vienna was not responsible and Lower Austria was not interested in the retirement home for mainly Viennese.

restoration

The exterior of the building was renovated in 1995, with the top floor being removed and the original appearance restored. Inside there were cultural festivals and, from 1996 to 2001, Paulus Manker's polydrama " Alma - A Show at the End " about the life of Alma Mahler-Werfel , which was also filmed there. The necessary interior renovation was finally carried out in 2003. The sanatorium was provided with extensions and is now used as a care home for the elderly.

  • The entrance hall

  • Gallery for the new building

  • The dining room

  • Salon behind the dining room

  • Staircase and window

Web links

Commons : Sanatorium Purkersdorf  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 '16 "  N , 16 ° 11' 50.4"  E