Gotisches Haus

The Gothic House was built between 1773 and 1813 according to the plans of Erdmannsdorff and building director Georg Christoph Hesekiel in the Neo-Gothic style. The model was the English country seat Strawberry Hill, which Prince Leopold had come to know on his travels. The special feature of the house are its two different facades. The front, which faces the Wolfskanal, is that of a Venetian church (Madonna del Orto in the Sestiere Cannaregio). The garden side follows the Tudor Gothic style. Both facades are focal points of sightlines. This creates the impression that one is dealing with two different buildings. The upper floor was used by the Prince as his residence and for his museum. The lower area was used for economic purposes; Schoch also lived there later. The Gothic House houses one of the largest collections of Swiss stained glass windows and a museum shop. The museum part of the Gothic House can be visited; this also includes the Pomological Cabinet, originally the house's library, where Prince Franz's pomological collection, consisting of 200 wax fruits, was later kept. In the eastern part of Schoch's garden, Schoch is buried under a grassy mound.