Oberlanzendorf Castle

The ministerial family of the Lanzendorfers is usually associated with the village of the same name near Mistelbach. However, a connection between the two families is suspected, as their possessions were partly adjacent. The Asparn-Maleisdorfers owned Oberlanzendorf around 1170. Later they were replaced by the Schönbergers. However, the owner families repeatedly named themselves after Lanzendorf. In 1388, Duke Albrecht III confirmed the possession of a farm to Ruedel von Lanzendorf. In 1558, the Eissler family appears as the lord of the manor, and in 1572, Heinrich Freiherr von Lamberg. Due to its exposed location in the east of Vienna and its weak fortifications, the castle was devastated and partially destroyed during both Turkish sieges. However, the present building was mainly constructed in the first half of the 17th century. In 1651, the estate belonged to Johann Friedrich von Brassican. Through his daughter, it came to her husband, Otto Ehrenreich Freiherr von Kirchberg. However, the manor did not prosper and eventually went bankrupt. The Counts of Königsberg bought it from the estate. They are likely to have carried out several alterations. The courtyard-side extensions were built predominantly between 1820 and 1830. In the latter year, Moritz Edler von Tschoffen acquired the castle. From 1832, it served as a factory. First, metalware was produced here, and then from 1841, brassware. The next owners were Salomon Marcus Adler and Dr. Konrad Willner. In 1915, a home for crippled children was established in the building. For this purpose, it was extended in the pavilion system. In 1940, the municipality of Vienna had to relocate the children to Rodaun. Oberlanzendorf now served initially as a detention camp for men who wanted to avoid forced labor. In 1942, it was taken over by the GESTAPO and run as a transit camp for political and criminal prisoners. In the last years of the war, it functioned as a transit camp for Hungarian Jews on their way to various concentration camps. The camp administration was housed in the castle. The former Meierhof (manor farm) was available for the prisoners. Since 1948, the castle has belonged to Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna, which first maintained a convalescent home for people with nervous disorders here. In 1966, the complex was extensively restored and re-established as a rehabilitation home for physically disabled children. In 2011/12, the interior of the castle was newly adapted. The facades were restored, and some new buildings were erected in the castle area. The newly built staircase in exposed concrete, intended as a memorial for the crimes committed in Oberlanzendorf between 1938 and 1945, is well-intentioned but architecturally completely unsuitable.

Modern Extensions The repeatedly rebuilt castle is located at the southern end of the village directly on the main road. The two- to three-story, block-like building has a hook-shaped floor plan. Its corners are adorned with decorative rustication. In the middle of the high hip roof sits a square roof turret with a sheet metal spire. It is likely to date from the renovation of 1758. The simply designed street front shows seven window axes. On the park side, a two-story loggia is attached to this long wing. Its columns support a flat ceiling on the ground floor, but basket arches on the upper floor. This extension is of relatively recent date. To the south, a two-story classical extension with a grooved ground floor adjoins it. The high arched windows of the upper floor are separated by double pilasters. Behind it lies the former ballroom. The former chapel on the upper floor of this wing was established around 1830. This extension has a roof terrace, bounded by a stone balustrade, in place of a roof, with a small roof house on the street side. An outbuilding is connected to the main building by a flat covered colonnade. This, as well as other, mostly two-story buildings, were erected at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries as administrative and care buildings. They are still partly surrounded by the former defensive wall. Individual embrasures have been preserved. A large park extends at the back of the castle. The once huge Meierhof (manor farm) on the other side of the street was largely demolished in 1998, except for the stables.