Anif Palace (german: Schloss Anif), also known as the Water Palace Anif, is located beside an artificial pond in Anif on the southern edge of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, Austria. The palace was once the seat of the bishops of Chiemsee, and then later was used as a court until the nineteenth century. It was remodeled between 1838 and 1848 in the neo-Gothic style. Anif is most famous for its use in several movies, including ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', '' The Great Race'', and Frederick Forsyth's '' The Odessa File''.

History

The palace’s origins cannot be exactly dated; a document from around 1520 shows a palace there called Oberweiher. Its owner was the dominion directory bailiff Lienhart Praunecker. From 1530 the water palace is mentioned regularly as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

given by the respective Archbishop of Salzburg. It was so given to the bishops of Chiemsee after a restoration by Johann Ernst von Thun in 1693; from then on the bishops used it as a summer residence. It consisted simply of a plain four-story dwelling with a two-story building connecting it to a chapel. When Salzburg fell to Austria in 1806, the palace and the pond came into public ownership. Leased from that point on, it was little altered or restored until being sold to Alois Count Arco-Stepperg in 1837. He rebuilt it between 1838 and 1848 in the neo-Gothic romanticizing style seen today. After the death of the Count in 1891 the property fell to his nearest female relative, Sophie, who was married to the Count Ernst von Moy de Sons of an old

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

noble family. In 1918, the palace attracted public attention when King Ludwig III of Bavaria and his family and entourage fled to escape the November Revolution. With the Declaration of Anif on 12/13 November 1918, Ludwig III refused to abdicate, and instead freed all Bavarian government officials, soldiers and officers from their oath because he was not able to continue the government. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

units were accommodated in the palace, followed by American units in 1945.

Present

In October 2001 the palace and its owner Johannes Count von Moy de Sons made news headlines when it was revealed that part of the furniture, which had been put under

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

status as an ensemble with the palace, had been offered for sale at Sotheby's in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Some of the pieces were returned to Austria and are now partly visible in the

Museum Carolino Augusteum Housed in the ' (to which it moved in 2005), the Salzburg Museum is the museum of artistic and cultural history of the city and region of Salzburg, Austria. It originated as the Provincialmuseum and was also previously known as the Museum Carolino- ...

of Salzburg. The Anif Palace is still privately owned by the family von Moy, who restored it fundamentally between 1995 and 2000. Public tours of this historic building are not provided. This castle was used in the movies ''The Great Race'' as Baron von Stuppe's (Ross Martin) residence and ''The Odessa File'' as Roschmann's castle. Director Bryan Forbes revealed that the castle also appeared in the movie ''The Slipper and the Rose'' for exterior scenes, as Cinderella's home.

Gallery

Image:Anif schloss 3.jpg, Anif Palace from the north Image:Anif schloss 1.jpg, Anif Palace from the south Image:SchlossAnif01.jpg, Steel engraving, 1852

References

External links

{{Authority control Palaces in Austria Buildings and structures in Salzburg (state) Water castles