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

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, Austria. The palace was once the seat of the bishops of

Chiemsee Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien (river), Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The ...

, and then later was used as a court until the nineteenth century. It was remodeled between 1838 and 1848 in the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

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 ''The Great Race'' is a 1965 American Technicolor epic slapstick comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood, written by Arthur A. Ross (from a story by Edwards and Ross) and with music by Henr ...

'', and

Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth ( ; 25 August 1938 – 9 June 2025) was an English novelist and journalist. He was best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', ''The Fourth Protocol'', ''The Dogs of War (novel), ...

's ''

The Odessa File ''The Odessa File'' is a thriller by English writer Frederick Forsyth, first published in 1972, about the adventures of a young German reporter attempting to discover the location of a former SS concentration-camp commander. The name ODESSA ...

''.

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 (; ) 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 feudal alle ...

given by the respective

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Salzburg. It was so given to the bishops of

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. Anif schloss 2

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

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

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the German

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

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 Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Some of the pieces were returned to Austria and are now partly visible in the Museum Carolino Augusteum 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 Salzburg Buildings and structures in Salzburg (federal state) Water castles