Schloss Potzneusiedl

Castle Potzneusiedl

The construction of the present chateau was built with the partial use of Gothic foundation walls from 1796. The construction was completed in 1808. Around 1850 the Batthyány family acquired the estate, which had its heyday still in the interwar period, when glamorous festivities were celebrated here. Princess Louise Batthyány, the last aristocratic owner, died in 1956 and bequeathed Potzneusiedl to her personal physician. The latter kept the farm and sold the castle in 1966 to the Viennese merchant Gerhard Egermann, who had the already extremely desolate building restored in the following years.
Gerhard Egermann established the "First Austrian Icon Museum" here in 1970. Its showpiece is the "Mother of God of Kazan", which made Potzneusiedl a place of pilgrimage for pious Russians. Since 1975, collections of Austrian and Hungarian art from the 17th to the 20th centuries have been exhibited. Since 1987 Potzneusiedl Castle has been the headquarters of the Austro-Romanian Cultural Institute. Today the castle is run as a huge antique store with an attached antiquarian bookshop, whose treasures fill all the rooms. In addition, special exhibitions and book markets are held time and again.Also events such as the Potzneusiedl Theater Summer, concerts and readings take place in the former carriage garage, which was set up as a theater and concert hall.