Schloss Klessheim
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Schloss Klessheim is a palace situated 4 km west of Salzburg in the Austrian commune of Wals-Siezenheim.
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[edit] History
Originally, the Kleshof was a small house acquired by bishop Johann Ernst Graf Thun in 1690. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach converted it into Lustschloss Favorita from 1700 onwards, but after the death of the bishop in Jahr 1709, his successor Franz Anton von Harrach cancelled work in favour of Mirabell. Bishop Leopold Anton von Firmian, who had build Schloss Leopoldskron, finished the work. Later, the Englischer Garten park was added.
[edit] World War II
Adolf Hitler, when staying at the Berghof, used Schloss Klessheim since 1938 to host guests and conferences. During most of the war, it was outside the reach of allied bombers.
On 7 July 1944, on the occasion of a weapons exhibition, it was planned to kill Hitler. German officer Helmuth Stieff did not trigger the bomb, though.[1]
Eagles made of lime stone, situated on the entrance portals, remind of the Third Reich.
[edit] Today
Schloss Klessheim is owned by Land Salzburg. During Cold War, the neutral Austrian Government used it to host international guests and conferences. Nowadays, it is a casino.
The castle also appeared in the 1965 film The Great Race with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Peter Falk.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Reinhard Medicus: Das höchfürstliche Schloss Favoritta zu Klesheimb und sein alter Park, in: Bastei - Zeitschrift des Stadtvereines Salzburg für die Erhaltung und Pflege von Bauten, Kultur und Gesellschaft. 55 Jg. Salzburg 2006. 1. Folge, S. 10–17.
