Dunklhof

The Dunklhof (formerly Stippelhof), Kirchengasse 16, Upper Austria, is a prominent late Gothic town house with a Renaissance arcaded courtyard in Steyrdorf’s Steyr sector.

The residential edifice that served as the seat of the lower courts dates back to the 15th century.The large cantilever facade facing Kirchengasse is eye-catching (the top level protrudes from the ground floor).The arcaded courtyard was constructed about 1520/25 and has magnificent columns and corner pillars with tracery decorations.The arcade courtyard’s original aspect was restored to the fullest degree possible in 1996, including mortared ridges, ridge and groin connections, and the reuse of ancient hand-beaten roof tiles.For use, new church plain tiles were installed on the roof parts facing away from the sides.The façade facing Kirchengasse was renovated in 2006.The current yellow artwork is from that same period.

Christian Brittinger, who also founded the first pharmacy, owned the house since 1834, followed by Alfred Brittinger in 1867, Karl Arazim in 1885, Heinrich Lang in 1891, Mathilde Stippl (Anton Stippl) in 1894, Otto Dunkl in 1910, and finally his son, the architect Heinrich Dunkl, who used the house privately and professionally as a partial heir. In October 1958, he married poet Waltraut Oberleitner-Schottenloher, also known as Dora Dunkl.On July 29, 1959, they welcomed guests to a “evening music in the Dunklhof” for the first time.This annual “serenade evening” was held until her death.

The courtyard is still used for residential use, although it is also used for events.The Holy Spirit Pharmacy, Steyr’s oldest pharmacy, was located there for a long time (the sign still reminds us of this).Due to a lack of space and a “poor economic location,” the pharmacy relocated to Wieserfeldplatz in 2001, and the prior facility is now used as a gallery by various artists.