Schloss Immendorf was a castle in the village of Immendorf near the market town of

Wullersdorf Wullersdorf is a town in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria. Geography Wullersdorf lies in the Weinviertel The (; ) or ; "Area below the " is located in the northeast of Lower Austria. In the east, the borders Slovakia ...

in the district of

Hollabrunn Hollabrunn () is a district capital town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, on the Göllersbach river. It is situated in the heart of the biggest wine region of Austria, the Weinviertel. History The surroundings of Hollabrunn were firs ...

in the northeast of

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, within the

Weinviertel The (; ) or ; "Area below the " is located in the northeast of Lower Austria. In the east, the borders Slovakia at the March River. In the south, it borders and , its limits being the Wagram, the Danube and the . Its western neighbor is ...

region. From 1942 to May 1945, the Institut für Denkmalpflege (present day Bundesdenkmalamt, Vienna) rented rooms at Immendorf Castle for the purpose of storing art objects that included furniture from the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna and the confiscated

Lederer Klimt Collection Lederer is a surname of German origin, meaning "leatherworker". Notable people with the surname include: * Ábrahám Lederer (18271916), Czech-Hungarian educator and writer * Andrew J. Lederer (born before 1988), American comedian * Eppie Lederer ...

. On 8 May 1945, on the last day of

World War II in Europe The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

, the castle somehow caught on fire, presumably by the retreating German army, but not necessarily the SS as has been heretofore believed, and art stolen by the Nazis and paintings by

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...

stored therein were lost.

History

Early owners include

Bernhard von Immendorf Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

and the Palterndorfers.

Matthias Palterndorfer Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. Notable people Notable people named Matthias include the following: Religion * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscar ...

appears in the tax records in 1529. The castle was the seat of knightly followers who repeatedly adapted the building. In 1850, the last conversion of the plant took place, during which the moat was embedded. In 1886

Carl Freiherr von Freudenthal Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

, from an old-noble Silesian family, acquired Schloss Immendorf. In the 20th century the small three-storey Kastellburg had four higher towers. After the fire in 1945, the ruins were vandalized for its building stone and the castle reduced to its foundation walls. In 1955, the Freudenthal family had the ruins torn down.

Art store

From 1942-45, the Institüt für Denkmalpflege (currently the Bundesdenkmalamt, Vienna) rented rooms in Immendorf Castle for the purpose of storing art from various art collections including objects from the MAK, the art collection of the von Suttner family, and the confiscated Lederer Klimt Collection. On 8 May 1945, the last day of the war in the region, the castle caught on fire presumably started by the retreating "

Feldherrnhalle The Feldherrnhalle ("Field Marshals' Hall") is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of th ...

"—a tank corps of the German army.Storkovich, Tina Mari
Die Presse: ''Verbrannte Klimtbilder: Das Puzzle von Immendorf''
retrieved 27 May 2017 It has been assumed that this fire destroyed all the objects which had been relocated to the castle for safe storage. The losses included an important sequence of paintings by

, the

Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings The ''Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings'', also known as the ''Faculty Paintings'', were a series of paintings made by Gustav Klimt for the ceiling of the University of Vienna's Great Hall between 1900 and 1907. In 1894, Klimt was comm ...

of 1900 to 1907. It seems that the only remains of this particular collection of Klimt´s work are preparatory sketches many of which are in the collections of the Albertina (Vienna) and a few photographs (originally in the hands of Welz Gallery, Salzburg) but now in the ÖNB (Vienna).

References

External links

{{Commons category, Klimt University of Vienna faculty paintings
iKlimt.com, Life and Work of Gustav Klimt

Universität Salzburg, Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit: ''Immendorf''

„''Das Schloss der verbrannten Bilder''“ at camerahumana.wordpress.com

Castles in Austria Buildings and structures destroyed during World War II Lost paintings Former castles

History

Art store

See also

References

External links