Mönchstein Castle

Schloss Mönchstein is today a castle hotel in an exposed location on the northern edge of the Mönchsberg plateau in the city of Salzburg. The building, originally from the Middle Ages and now historicist, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg and operates as a five-star hotel.

Tetelheimer Tower and Mönchstein Manor

A building on the northern edge of the Mönchsberg was first mentioned in a document in 1350 as the Tetelheimer Turm, named after the resident Tetlhaimers, who held the district court around Waging am See in the mid-13th century. This tower was probably located on the hill southwest of the Monikapforte. Later, the name Mönchsteinturm became common. From 1419 to 1565, the building was owned by the Fröschlmoser family. A chapel had also existed here since 1540; it was re-consecrated on August 3, 1661, in honor of Saint Mary, Saint Anne, and all holy monks. In 1531, Virgil Fröschlmoser added a manor house, stables, and a barn to the small castle. He erected a stone tower and a cistern on the rocky cone. In 1565, the impoverished widow of Christoph Fröschlmoser had to sell the entire property, "including the tower called Munichstein, together with the Fröschlmoos house and pleasure garden, the garden in front of the Klausenthor next to the Siechgarten and the Mönchsbergtor," to the Salzburg citizen Wolf Windisch. In 1622, the property was sold to Mülln Abbey. In 1643, Mönchstein was expanded into a three-story tower building.

The Professors' Little Castle with the Seminary Castle

After further changes of ownership, the Benedictine University of Salzburg acquired the property in 1654. At the site of today's Schloss Mönchstein, i.e., southeast of the Monikapforte, a simple small castle was built at that time to allow professors fresh air and "recreation from heavy mental work." It was soon called the "Professors' Little Castle." A second building, the "Seminary Castle," was made available to students. A tower standing south of it was called the mathematical tower and used for astronomical observations. It was demolished around 1780.

Manor House and Villa

After the dissolution of the Benedictine University by the Bavarians in 1810, the complex was auctioned off and acquired in 1813 by Josef Felner. He had the neglected property rebuilt and entrusted Leopold Hagenauer of Salzburg with its administration. After the fire of 1818, Hagenauer acquired statues from Mirabell Palace for the castle garden, which he described with idiosyncratic texts (for example, for a statue with a broken arm: "Heaven, who would have believed it! What war and storms could not do, this was reserved for peace, to tear off my left arm."). Hagenauer's son Josef finally acquired the property in 1834. The journalist and topographer Lorenz Hübner lived in the small castle for some time, and in the 20th century, Anton Faistauer also resided there.

In 1887, Hagenauer's heirs sold the property to the banker Karl Leitner (1855–1911) from Mattighofen; the property (then called Leitner Villa) remained in the Leitner family's ownership until 1917. He had founded the Salzburg Electricity Works in 1886 and in 1890 had the electric elevator to the Mönchsberg and the road from Mülln to the Mönchsberg built, opened up the Klausenterrasse, and constructed a path to the Mönchsberg lift. His wife Kreszentia Leitner commissioned Jakob Ceconi with initial expansion work.

After Leitner's death, his widow sold the property in 1917 to Hofrat Bela Veith, the financial advisor to the Romanian royal family, who significantly expanded the castle in 1919. Since then, the name Schloss Mönchstein has been commonly used in memory of a building that existed in this area. Queen Mother Marie of Romania often visited the castle during the festival seasons. After Bela Veith's death, his sons Guido and Ferdinand took over the property.

Hotel Schloss Mönchstein

In 1948, Ferdinand Veith founded Hotel Betriebs KG. F. Veith in Salzburg, but soon had to take on Adolf Brühl and his wife Lucia as partners due to high debts. Adolf Brühl transformed the house into a luxury hotel in 1948 with the help of architects Hugo Hübner and Walter Baumgartner. Soon, opera singers (Hilde Gülden, Kirsten Flakstad), members of the Ford family, and film divas stayed here. In 1952, the Brühls emigrated to Brazil. In 1956, the Mierka family joined the operating company. In 2000, the castle became the property of a Tyrolean hotelier family; however, the sole owner Anna Gabrielli-Schwarz went bankrupt with the hotel in 2003. In 2005, the property was acquired by the German billionaire and "Capri-Sonne inventor" Hans-Peter Wild. He had the hotel renovated and expanded it to a total of 24 rooms and suites and a 300 m2 spa and wellness area.

The castle is currently managed by Director Samantha Teufel. As Salzburg's first Five Star Superior Hotel, Mönchstein has received numerous awards. In 1993 and again in 2009, the Schloss-Restaurant Paris Lodron was awarded two toques by Gault Millau. Famous guests included Jopi Heesters in 2008 and Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz with their entire entourage in 2009 during the filming of "Knight and Day."