Stuppach Castle
The Stuppach castle is the ancestral home of the Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach . It is located in the town of Gloggnitz , cadastral municipality of Stuppach, in Lower Austria at the foot of the Semmering .
It was first mentioned in 1130. The three-storey building extends from SW to NE (41 m front length) and belongs to different construction periods. The north part from the entrance with the 18 m high, round corner tower provided with key notches forms the medieval core (16th century), the west part including the chapel dates from the Renaissance period (17th century) and the south part is from the Baroque period (18th century) . Century). Additions and additions (terrace, arbor, staircase in the inner courtyard ...) were made at a later time. The building contained around 50 rooms, including two halls. The 36 rooms (blue, red, yellow, green ...) were well equipped.
Count Franz von Walsegg lived at Stuppach Castle from 1763 to 1827 and commissioned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to compose a requiem for his deceased wife in 1791 . The result was the Mozart Requiem , one of the most famous and popular works by Mozart. The original score was in Stuppach Castle until shortly after Count Walsegg's death. Today the original score can be admired in the Austrian National Library. It is considered to be the most valuable exhibit in the musical collection.
By 1936, the decline began: 1938 housed the castle the Gauführerschule the SA . When the Soviet Army marched in in 1945, the castle was to be blown up, which the assigned SS men failed to do, as the village above would probably have been partially affected. While trying to burn documents, they were surprised by the Soviet soldiers. After that, the Soviet field bakery was housed here, they simply stuck the stove pipe out the window. In 1946 they overheated the stove, which started a fire and destroyed most of the southern roof structure, leaving most of the castle in ruins. The firefighters were sent home with the words: "No matter better men healthy!" The castle was later requisitioned by the municipality due to outstanding taxes and until the revitalization mentioned below there were social housing in the still largely preserved north wing. The castle chapel on the west side was used for special church devotions long after the church was built in the immediate vicinity; it had a so-called “emergency roof”. The otherwise missing roof caused the structural decay, the walls were stable, but stepping on the dippel tree ceilings was life-threatening. Since the revitalization mentioned below, it has been a gem in the landscape, not only but ultimately also for the art business there is a new driveway.
The castle and estate have been separated since the foreclosure auction in 1937 and have different owners. Today's castle includes the revitalized and largely restored main building with around 2400 m² and a free-standing west wing (originally a water mill), which is still to be restored.
The revitalization of the main building began in the late 1980s. In 1997, this was the location for the benefit event and world premiere of the play Mozart's Requiem - a game about the story of its origins . Since then, Stuppach Palace has also been known as "Mozart's last palace". The term was coined by Austrian television on the occasion of a recording of parts of the event.
Since its revitalization, Stuppach Castle has increasingly developed into a location for art and culture. There are regular events - especially salon concerts - with internationally successful artists and interpreters.
A major project is currently being carried out: the story of “Mozart's last castle”.
Web links
- Concert programs and the project of "Mozart's Last Castle"
- Entry via Stuppach to Burgen-Austria
Coordinates: 47 ° 40 ′ 44.4 " N , 15 ° 57 ′ 43.5" E