Thonet Castle

The origins of the Thonetschlössl date back to 1631, when Johann Baptist Verda von Verdenberg founded a Capuchin monastery. This monastery was destroyed in 1683 during the Turkish Wars but rebuilt as early as 1684. In 1785, under Emperor Joseph II, the monastery was secularized. Giacomo Caliano acquired the property in 1786 and used it for silk and cloth production. Subsequently, the building served as a chemical bleachery around 1806 and as a theater around 1821. In 1833, the entomologist Ernst Heeger acquired the property at an auction and established a silk factory there. From 1845, the new owner, Countess Elise von Salm, née Liechtenstein, had the building converted into a castle-like residence. The Thonet family acquired the property in 1889. In 1931, the Mödling City Savings Bank purchased the building and housed the district museum, which had existed since 1904, there. After World War II, it served as a police station from 1945 to 1955. In 1958, the City of Mödling acquired the building and used it again as a district museum from 1965.