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

Anif Anif is a municipality of Salzburg-Umgebung District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography It is located at the southern city limits of Salzburg. In the south, it borders on Hallein District. Anif is one of the smallest municipalities in t ...

on the southern edge of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, 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 flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows in ...

, 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, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

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''. Se ...

'', ''

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

'', and

Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', '' The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', ''The Devil's Alter ...

'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 is ...

''.

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 Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

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 Johann Ernst Graf von Thun und Hohenstein (3 July 1643 – 20 April 1709) was Bishop of Seckau from 1679 to 1687 and Prince-archbishop of Salzburg from 1687 until his death. Life and career Born in Prague, Bohemia, he was a member of the Tyrolea ...

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

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 ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 previous ...

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 American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

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 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