Schloss Leopoldskron

Salzburg, Austria

Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg Leopold von Firmian (1679-1744) commissioned the palace in 1736 on the shores of an existing pond after he had enriched himself in the process of expelling over 22,000 Protestants from Salzburg. He acquired the area between the palace and the Untersberg as a family estate, which he passed on in May 1744 to his nephew Count Laktanz Firmian, who used it to house his large collection of paintings. This included works of Titian, Dürer, Poussin, Rubens and Rembrandt.

After the death of the Archbishop in 1744, his heart was buried in the chapel of the palace, while the rest of his body was placed in the cathedral of Salzburg. The palace was owned by the Firmian family until 1837, even after the death of Count Laktanz in 1786. George Zierer, the owner of a local shooting gallery, bought the palace and stripped it of most of the valuable interior decorations, including paintings, etchings, and sculptures.

The palace had several owners during the 19th century (including a banker and two waiters who wanted to use it as a hotel, King Ludwig I of Bavaria). In 1918 it was bought by Max Reinhardt, the noted theatre director and co-founder of the Salzburg Festival.[3] By this time the palace was in urgent need of repair. With the work of local artisans, Reinhardt spent twenty years renovating the palace. Besides restoring the staircase, the Great Hall, and the Marble Hall, he created the Library, the Venetian Room and a garden theatre. He used the whole building for his theatre productions (the audiences had to move from room to room). He also used it as a gathering place for writers, actors, composers and designers from across the globe. Reinhardt escaped to the United States as persecution of the Jews increased, hoping the Nazis would be defeated in the war. He worked in Hollywood during World War II and died in New York in 1943, before the Allied victory.

In 1939 the German government confiscated the palace as a national treasure during the taking of 'Jewish property' throughout Austria. During the same year, Hermann Göring assigned the palace to Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, an Austrian who had been spying for the Nazis in Britain and Europe and who had many influential contacts. She was charged with transforming it into a guest house for prominent artists of the Reich, and to serve as a reception facility for Hitler's Berghof home.

By the end of the war, a bomb had exploded in the garden. It shattered the windows, destroyed a chandelier in the library on the ground floor and sent shrapnel fragments into the wall murals in the Chinese room. It also damaged the stucco work in the south facade. Traces of the damage can still be seen today.

After the war, the property was returned to the Reinhardt estate. In 1946 Helene Thimig, the widow of Max Reinhardt, offered use of the palace to Clemens Heller, who founded the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies, a 'Marshall Plan of the Mind,' together with Scott Elledge and Richard Campbell, all Harvard graduate students. The Salzburg Seminar brought together young people from the countries that had been in conflict during World War 2 and originally offered education on American history, art, literature and culture, in a period when United States armed forces occupied parts of Germany and Austria.

In 1959 the Salzburg Global Seminar purchased the palace, and in 1973 the adjacent Meierhof, which was part of the original Firmian estate. They have made extensive renovations and restorations to enable the palace to be used as a conference center and venue for events other than the Salzburg Seminar. In early 2014, 50 rooms in the Meierhoft, the Meierhof Café and the reception area underwent a substantial two-month renovation. The renovation included three 'The Sound of Music' themed rooms. In February 2014, the property reopened under its new name, Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron.

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Details

Founded: 1736
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Austria

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Hakan Guzgan (4 months ago)
This is our second favorite hotel in this area. It is very elegant hotel. Staff are very friendly and polite. Free and easy parking. Hotel's view is great (Lake View). This is the location where The Sound of Music (movie) shoot. Rooms are clean and roomy. Hotel's every corner is like a museum. But the best part is the breakfast saloon and amazing breakfast. The quality and varieties of the breakfast is amazing. We highly recommend this hotel for Salzburg stays. Hakan Guzgan
Gena Kona-Mancini (4 months ago)
What a wonderful experience. All the staff were kind, warm and attentive. The view is unbeatable, the grounds and magnificent and the breakfast was delicious (and served in the palace ballroom!). It was a quiet stay, calm and not touristy at all. I love that they have preserved all the rooms in the palace and you can go for a walkabout and visit as if you were traveling back in time.
realsolutions .dc (4 months ago)
This place is so pleasant - it’s hard to explain. The breakfast is served in a palace. What a treat. The variation of food is spectacular. They let you rent bikes for free. You’re walking distance from the center of town. It’s the best place to stay in Salzburg. I cannot wait to go back
Sean (6 months ago)
What a memorable experience. We booked breakfast for two people and had an incredible experience. You can wonder around the rooms and grounds after your meal. the staff and food were first class.
Karen Lemme (6 months ago)
Truly a remarkable hotel! The service there is 10/10. Super friendly and professional and everyone seems to genuinely want to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Though I think a lot of the guests are attending seminars and such, my mom and I stayed here to fulfill her Sound of Music dreams, and it certainly did not disappoint! We stayed in the Meierhof Building, which is just next door to the palace. You're able to explore the extraordinary rooms in the palace (like the library!!!) and eat breakfast in the ballroom, so you really are not missing out by staying in the Meirhof Building. The room was comfortable and spacious and the bathroom seemed to be recently remodeled (and was also huge!). If I return to Austria, I would absolutely stay here again. Though it is a bit out of Salzburg city center, it is a very quick taxi ride into town. It would also be a very scenic walk or bike ride if the weather is good.
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