Wilhelminenberg Castle is located on the western outskirts of Vienna in the 16th district, Ottakring, on the Gallitzinberg. It is now used as a hotel and is located in the middle of a 120,000 m² park, which slopes gently into Liebhartstal from the south-eastern part of the castle.
Austria Trend Hotel Schloss Wilhelminenberg History
In 1781, field marshal Franz Moritz Graf von Lascy (also Lacy) bought the property at Ottakring on the mountain called Predigtstuhl and started building the castle. His friend, the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Prince Demetrius Michalowitsch von Gallitzin (Russian Dmitrij Michailowitsch Golizyn), from whom the mountain was later named, bought the goods in the sermon chair and later purchased additional forest parts and pastures from the community of Ottakring, which he had transformed into the park that still exists today. The park was adorned with several ponds, a round temple, Roman ruins and a hunting lodge. After the death of Gallitzin in 1793, Nikolai Petrowitsch 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 purchased the building, which needed to be restored, in 1824. They enlarged it by two side wings in 1838.
After the prince's death, a hereditary dispute broke out, which is why the property was offered by a court order for 125,000 florins. The son Moritz von Montléart obtained the contract and donated the palace and the land to his wife Wilhelmina in 1866. Since his request to change the name from Gallitzinberg to Wilhelminenberg was not officially received, the prince had panels marked "Wilhelminenberg" on all entrances to the castle and thus obtained a change of indirect name.
The prince died on March 16, 1887 and, at the request of his widow, was buried near the castle in a neo-Gothic mausoleum. Princess Wilhelmine distributed the inheritance among her relatives, retaining only her personal property and the income of the Wilhelminenberg. Because of his generosity to the poor, it was called "The Angel of Wilhelminenberg" by the population. She died on March 26, 1895 and was buried in the mausoleum next to her husband.
In the years 1903-1908 the already dilapidated castle was demolished and a neo-empire palace was built according to the plans of the architects Eduard Frauenfeld (1853-1910) and Ignaz Sowinski as seat of the Austrian archdukes. Construction costs including annexes amounted to SEK 1.4 million. The lord of the castle was Archduke Rainer, after his death on January 27, 1913, his archduke nephew Leopoldo Salvator.
During the First World War, the castle was converted into a military hospital and a convalescent home for war victims.
In 1922 it was acquired by the director of the Zurich bank Wilhelm Ammann. From November 16, 1926, the city of Vienna became the new owner of the castle, including the auxiliary facilities and the park, buying it in a forced auction and establishing it in 1927 as a hostel for boys. From 1934 to 1939 the property was the seat of the boys' choir. In March 1938 he was confiscated by the National Socialists and handed over to the Austrian legion. In the war years, the castle served once again as a military hospital, connected to the nearby Wilhelminen hospital.
In 1945 the house was reclassified for children in need of relaxation and former prisoners of the concentration camp. In 1950 the observation station for healing education moved from Spiegelgrund to Wilhelminenberg Castle
From 961 to 1977 the building served as a home for special school students.
On 1 July 1986, Deputy Mayor Hans Mayr announced that the castle would be renovated and turned into a pension. In 2000, the pension became the Hotel Schloss Wilhelminenberg. After a long three-year renovation, it was reclassified and brought to the 4-star hotel category. The hotel is now operated under the Austria Trend Hotels brand by Verkehrsbüro Hotellerie GmbH.