Gutenbrunn Castle

The listed building still bears the inscription "Schloss Gutenbrunn" on one wall today. The name Gutenbrunn, in turn, can be traced back to a freshwater spring, a good well, which stood out in the sulfur-water-soaked soil of the city.

Records go back to the Middle Ages, speaking of a mill and later of an estate. The estate changed owners frequently, appearing under the names "Twanghof" and later "Posthof". Completely destroyed by the Turks in 1683, a castle chapel was then built, of which nothing is visible today. In 1781, Abraham Wetzlar von Blankenstein acquired the dominion of Gutenbrunn, which was incorporated into Baden as a small, independent suburb only in 1850, and founded his Gutenbrunnerbad there, which marked the beginning of (spa) tourism in this house. His efforts to establish it were not under a good star, however. Nevertheless, Ludwig van Beethoven, among others, took the cure for two summers and composed two string quartets during his stays in Baden - possibly in our house, but unfortunately, we don't know that for sure. In 1897, Dr. Gustav Lantin acquired the castle, and a sanatorium with a large park was created around the house, for which neighboring houses also had to make way. A plaque, which arriving guests of our hotel will find behind the reception, testifies to the "most exalted" visit of His Majesty, Emperor Franz Josef, to this "institution". The house changed owners once more in the form of a joint-stock company before the Second World War, remaining a sanatorium until 1938.

During the Second World War, "Gutenbrunn" was used as a military hospital. Afterwards, in 1960, the municipality of Baden acquired this property. At that time, Schloss Gutenbrunn was a demolition object, consisting of a group of houses including a servants' wing, a glasshouse, and other outbuildings, all in a desolate state.

And then the Saudi Arabian King Ibn Saud came to Vienna for medical treatment and needed space for his accompanying harem. The reconstruction of why the then apparently still rather desolate "Gutenbrunn" was chosen was not entirely clear to us. In any case, the house remained in the possession of the Saudi royal family for some time.

In 1971, Dipl. Ing. Walter Nemetz acquired the property again from the city of Baden. In 1995, his son, Dipl. Ing. Roland Nemetz, took over the former Schloss Gutenbrunn; his family still owns the building today and turned it into a hotel, which it was, with interruptions, until 2007. And since autumn 2009, we have been operating a new hotel, "Villa Gutenbrunn", here in this historic place.