Maria Theresien Castle

The Maria Theresien Schlössl is located in Salzburg-Morzg on the border with Hellbrunn.

In 1866, the "First Austrian Central Institute for Artificial Fish Breeding" bought some meadows between Hellbrunn and Morzg, laid out fish ponds, and afforested the property.

It was then built in 1901 as the villa of the Viennese Uhlan Rittmeister Josef Ritter von Lommer. He named it "Theresienvilla" in memory of his mother. However, Josef died on January 7, 1902, and so in 1905, Max Ritter von Lommer, his brother, who also owned the nearby Emslieb Castle, sold the Theresienvilla. Over the next three decades, the ownership changed several times until Maria Striberski opened the diet guesthouse "Maria-Theresien-Schlößl" on July 29, 1935, after renovations and extensions. The internationally renowned Viennese Art Nouveau architect Alfred Keller was commissioned for the renovation. The work was carried out by Martin Knoll.

Keller had already furnished the magnificent apartment of the Striberski couple in Vienna after their wedding in 1908 with Art Nouveau furniture designed by him and with wall-filling views of Mediterranean landscapes painted by himself. This was intended to be a reminder of the places of the couple's honeymoon to Italy (Rome, Naples, and Capri) and North Africa. This furniture was brought to Salzburg in 1935, and with it, the newly built wing with salon and dining room, as well as the small salon and the guest rooms of the Maria-Theresien-Schlössl, were furnished.

In 1954, Horst Schneider's mother acquired the idyllic Schlössl and turned it into a hotel-restaurant (which closed on December 31, 2007). In 1982, her son Horst, with his wife Heidi and daughter Angela, took over the management of the house. In 1987, they built the "Belle Etage" in the park with additional comfort double rooms. The restaurant offered, among other things, freshly caught fish from its own fish ponds. In 2007, it was sold and completely renovated and restored in 2008.

Prominent guests at the Schlössl included Richard Burton and Liz Taylor, Clint Eastwood, Karl Böhm, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Clark Gable.