Schloss Voglsang

Schloss Voglsang is a listed neo-Gothic house in Steyr (Preuenhueberstraße 14).The constructor was Josef Werndl, and the master builder was Anton Plochberger.Another spelling is Schloss Vogelsang.

It is a three-story building with four corner towers and a rectangular floor plan.The three storeys are built on top of a stone block base.A triangular gable with a rosette completes the central axis.The north-east and south-west facades are more prominent and distinct than the side facades.The corner towers and battlements give the edifice a castle-like appearance.The staircase is lit by a structure in the middle of the roof that looks like a glass house.The attic conversion with low windows dates back to the 1920s.The bel étage was the first floor, which held the men’s salon and a large dining room. Only a few traces of the original interior design, such as wall and ceiling patterns on the ground and first levels, exist today. The designs of the staircase and corridor are influenced by medieval forms on one hand and Renaissance and Baroque forms on the other. The use of antique-style forms in the dining room or an ancient German Renaissance model in the gentlemen’s salon determined the outfitting of the distinct spaces.The castle’s façade has late Gothic style elements based on the Scottish model (Tudor Gothic), but it is not a replica of the style.

Preuenhueberstraße, named for the historian Valentin Preuenhueber, is meant to be a large, symbolic access way.

In 1873, Werndl bought the Vogelsang district property.According to legend, he commissioned master builder Anton Plochberger (1823-1890) to go to Scotland and inspect a palace complex before duplicating it in Steyr.Because of the associated park, we were followed by a garden architect.Werndl lost interest after his wife Karoline Antonia died and moved to Petzengütl.In 1878, he gave the city the shell of the building, which had already cost 64,000 fl., on the condition that it be transformed into a poorhouse. The city, on the other hand, rejected. Werndl’s subsequent efforts to sell the villa building proved futile. In his perspective, it had serious structural faults. He even considered canceling.

The villa construction hosted an exhibition for the city’s 900th anniversary celebrations in 1880, as well as an electrical demonstration in 1884. The latter encompasses the surrounding neighborhood as well as a carnival.Werndl first opened the park and the palm house to the public in the summer of 1885. In addition to the one from Preuenhueberstrasse, there was another access route from Volksstrasse at the time.This gate on the southwest side (Volksstraße/Redtenbachergasse) is still in operation as of 2018.

After Werndl’s death, the building was passed down to his daughter Caroline von Imhof.It had been enlarged and rendered habitable by the end of 1890.The plaster and cement decorations for the entryway and staircase were provided by the sculptor’s studio Franz Stark (Linz).In 1909, Prince Ludwig of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became the new owner.The four-ton copper roof was removed in 1916 to collect war supplies and was replaced with a tin roof.The indebted Coburg family could no longer sustain the building after the First World War, and it was placed in receivership.Some of the interior furnishings, such as the flooring, tiled stoves, and marble and wood paneling, were taken by the family.The property was bought by the Tyrolean Franciscan Province in 1928 and transformed into a boys’ monastery.To accommodate the extra area, an expansion was created.The Palm House was demolished sometime during the interwar period.The home was reopened in 1945 after being closed by the National Socialists.The rear patio was demolished in 1967 to make place for an indoor swimming pool.

Dobrauz, a real estate developer, purchased the castle in 1995 and converted it into a senior citizens’ condominium.

The Federal Monuments Office has designated the structure as Voglsang Castle with Park and Fountain as a monument.Another spelling that is widely used is Schloss Vogelsang.

The Preuenhueberstraße 5 home was built in 1874 and served as a summer getaway for Werndl’s visitors. He later gave it to a friend, the goldsmith and jeweler Johann (Hans) Berger (1837-1907). Berger was mayor of Steyr from 1886 until 1894, among other positions. Home No. 7 was dubbed the “servant’s house” due to its proximity to the massive garden entrance.