Kavalierhaus Klessheim

The Kavalierhaus is a historicist villa that was built in the parks of Schloss Klessheim Palace. The palace can be found in the municipality of Wals-Siezenheim, in the immediate outskirts of Salzburg. It is well-connected with city busses and known for housing the Salzburg casino. In 1866, Schloss Klessheim became the residence of Archduke Ludwig Viktor von Habsburg-Lothringen, who was "dismissed" and sent to exile in Salzburg after getting into a fight in a sauna, thereby revealing his bisexuality and causing a major scandal.

In Salzburg, Ludwig Viktor became a rather popular figure of public life. However, Schloss Klessheim came with the caveat that it was difficult to heat - a problem in winter. In 1881/1882, Ludwig Viktor hired the well-known historicist architect Heinrich Ferstl to build a winter residence, the so-called "Winterhaus". Ludwig Viktor lived here in the cold time of the year until he finally turned cold himself forever in 1919. After his death, both Schloss Klessheim and the Kavalierhaus became public property.

During World War II, the Kavalierhaus became a recovery facility for soldiers. Schloss Klessheim was modernised and became an important conference venue for Hitler (partly due to the vicinity to the Obersalzberg and Kehlsteinhaus). An additional basement floor was built under the Kavalierhaus, it became a bunker. Since 1962, the Kavalierhaus houses parts of the Tourismusschule Klessheim, a tourism school.

Further Reading

http://www.kavalierhaus.at/
Kavalierhaus Klessheim, official website

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavalierhaus_Klessheim
Kavalierhaus Klessheim on the German Wikipedia


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