Schernberg Castle

Schernberg Castle is a former castle building on a hill above Schwarzach im Pongau in Austria on the left bank of the Salzach. Today, as St. Vinzenz-Heim, it is a residential home for people with disabilities run by the Sisters of Charity (Daughters of Christian Charity) of St. Vincent de Paul.

Schernberg Castle was first mentioned in a document in 1193 as a tower in Schernperge, owned by the Lords of Schernberg. In 1370, they sold the tower and its estates to the Graf (of Schernberg) family. The administrator of Radstadt, Christoph Graf, and later his sons, had the house converted into a castle by 1550.

Cardinal Friedrich von Schwarzenberg, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, bought the heavily dilapidated property in 1845 and initially converted it into a brewery, but then by 1850 into a hospital and care institution. He then handed over this castle to the Sisters of Charity Schwarzach, who had been based there since 1844, with the express wish that this house should always be a nursing home for disabled and elderly people. In 1846, 5 sisters took over this institution, which was unique for the state of Salzburg, as there had been no psychiatric hospital until then. Only later, in 1898, did the state sanatorium take over patients who needed more intensive psychiatric care.

During the First World War, 140 patients were cared for at Schernberg Castle. The agriculture, which was operated for occupational therapy, served for provisions, as the institution received no public funds at that time.

During the Second World War, mass deportations took place at Schernberg Castle. In 1941, 151 women and men were forcibly deported, mostly to Niedernhart near Linz to Hartheim Castle, where they were murdered. Some patients were able to flee into the nearby forest. Sister Anna Bertha Königsegg strongly advocated for the disabled to save them from gassing. Quote from an exhibition text on Nazi euthanasia in the state of Salzburg:

“... In the early morning hours of April 21, 1941, the Gestapo arrived with many helpers. During the dressing and deportation of the patients, harrowing scenes unfolded; recalcitrant individuals were sedated. According to a list, 74 women and 41 men were selected. Those who could walk were driven down the hill, the others were put into small cars; because the large, black-curtained buses had not been able to climb the steep path to the castle and were waiting in Schwarzach ...”

The Order of the Sisters of Charity, whose motherhouse is now St. Maria House in Salzburg-Mülln, runs a home for the disabled at Schernberg Castle. It serves as a differentiated day and residential care home for people with intellectual or multiple disabilities. Most of the employees do not belong to an order.