Schloss Liesing

Liesing Castle (Schloss Liesing) in Vienna's 23rd district is a historic estate surrounded by extensive parkland. Originally known as a manor farm called Hausgraben or Auhof, the site is first mentioned in documents in 1387. The history of the grounds was marked by severe blows of fate, particularly the two Turkish sieges, during which the building was almost completely destroyed in 1683. According to a local legend, only a hazelnut tree in the park survived the fire, a motif that is now immortalized in the district's coat of arms. After its reconstruction, the manor was expanded into a castle in the early 18th century, and at times it also served as a residence for Emperor Charles VI.

Over the centuries, the estate changed hands frequently. After Joseph von Kurzböck acquired it in 1789 and had a chapel built, the castle passed through various owners, including a court jeweler and later industrial enterprises such as an ammonium chloride factory. In the mid-19th century, the building briefly served as a care facility for children with intellectual disabilities before it was sold to the City of Vienna in 1876 and converted into a retirement home. This use shaped the site into the 20th century, when the castle was briefly part of its own independent municipality.

Today, Liesing Castle presents itself as a renovated building with a new function. Following extensive renovation work that lasted until 2018, the early Baroque wing houses a City of Vienna music school. The late Baroque wings contain subsidized rental apartments, while a new extension by the moat offers privately financed condominiums. The formerly private park is now open to the public, giving visitors a glimpse of the castle's historic surroundings, although part of the parkland was taken up by the construction of a new nursing home between 2009 and 2012.