Wilhelminenberg Castle

The Schloss Wilhelminenberg is located on the western outskirts of Vienna in the 16th district , Ottakring , on the Gallitzinberg . Today it is used as a hotel and is located in the midst of a 120,000 m² park, which slopes gently into the Liebhartstal from the south-southeast facing front of the castle .

Wilhelminenberg Castle, front side

history

The pleasure palace of Prince Gallitzin around 1810

In 1781 Field Marshal Franz Moritz Graf von Lascy (also Lacy) acquired the property in Ottakring on the mountain called Predigtstuhl and began building the castle. His friend, the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Prince Demetrius Michalowitsch von Gallitzin (Russian Dmitrij Michailowitsch Golizyn ), after whom the mountain was subsequently named, bought the property at the Predigtstuhl from him and later acquired further parts of the forest and pastures from the community of Ottakring , which he had transformed into the park that still exists today. The park was decorated with several ponds, a round temple, Roman ruins and a hunting lodge. After Gallitzin's death in 1793, Nikolai Petrovich Rumjanzew inherited the property.

After several changes of ownership, Prince Julius von Montléart (Jules Max Thibault Montléart, 1787–19 October 1865) and his wife Maria Christina bought the castle, which was already in need of renovation, in 1824. In 1838 they had it enlarged by two side wings.

After the prince's death, an inheritance dispute broke out, which is why the property was offered by court order for 125,000 guilders . The son Moritz von Montléart was awarded the contract and donated the castle and grounds to his wife Wilhelmine in 1866 . Since his request to rename from Gallitzinberg to Wilhelminenberg was not officially granted, the prince had panels with the inscription “Wilhelminenberg” affixed to all entrances to the castle and thus achieved an indirect name change.

The prince died on March 16, 1887 and, at the request of his widow, was buried near the castle in a neo-Gothic style mausoleum. Princess Wilhelmine distributed the inheritance among her relatives, keeping only her personal property and the proceeds of the Wilhelminenberg. Because of her generosity towards the poor, she was called by the population "The Angel from Wilhelminenberg". She died on March 26, 1895 and was buried next to her husband in the mausoleum.

1903 demolition and new building

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View from the Ottakringer Friedhof over the Liebhartstal to Wilhelminenberg Castle

In the years 1903 to 1908 the already dilapidated castle was torn down and a palace in neo-empire style was built according to plans by the architects Eduard Frauenfeld (1853–1910) and Ignaz Sowinski as the seat of Austrian archdukes. The construction costs including the outbuildings amounted to 1.4 million crowns . The lord of the castle was Archduke Rainer , after his death on January 27, 1913, his nephew Archduke Leopold Salvator .

War years and subsequent periods

During the First World War , the castle was converted into a hospital and convalescent home for war victims.

It was bought by the Zurich bank director Wilhelm Ammann in 1922 . From November 16, 1926, the City of Vienna became the new owner of the palace, including ancillary facilities and park, through acquisition in a foreclosure sale, and in 1927 set it up as a municipal children's hostel . From 1934 to 1939 the property was the seat of the boys' choir . In March 1938 it was confiscated by the National Socialists and handed over to the Austrian Legion . In the war years the castle was used again as an army hospital, connected to the nearby Wilhelminenspital .

In 1945 it was rededicated as a home for children in need of relaxation and former concentration camp prisoners . In 1950 the curative educational observation station moved from Spiegelgrund to Wilhelminenberg Castle.

From 1961 home for special school students / abuse

From 1961 to 1977 the building served as a home for special school students . In 2011 it became known that during this period there were numerous attacks and rape of girls housed there. The city administration felt compelled to set up a commission to investigate these criminal incidents, which had long since become legally statute-barred. It should also be clarified whether the political level was aware of the incidents at the time and how they reacted to them if necessary. The chairwoman of the commission, judge Barbara Helige, said in an interview with the Viennese weekly newspaper Falter in June 2013 :

Question: So the city knew and watched?

Helige: The MA 11 knew everything, until 1973 Maria Jacobi was the city councilor in charge, after which Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner was responsible. We found letters to Jacobi. She was fully informed - but not about the sexual assault.

The victim organization Weißer Ring describes the Wilhelminenberg children's home in its final report on the victims in children's homes in the city of Vienna (together with Eggenburg ) by far the worst "hotspot of abuse". The 2,384 abused former home children who had reported were compensated by the municipality of Vienna with a total of 52 million euros.

The abuse in Schloss Wilhelminenberg (and other municipal homes) also led to the demand that the statute of limitations be revised so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.

From 1986

On July 1, 1986, Vice Mayor Hans Mayr announced that the castle would be renovated and converted into a guest house ( youth apartment hotel ). In 1988, after a construction period of 14 months, the stylishly adapted 3-star “Gästehaus Schloss Wilhelminenberg” was opened. In 2000 the guest house became the Hotel Schloss Wilhelminenberg . After an extensive three-year renovation, it was re-categorized and raised to the 4-star hotel category. Today the hotel is operated under the brand Austria Trend Hotels by Verkehrsbüro Hotellerie GmbH .