Villa Berchtold, Nonntal

The Villa Berchtold is a Baroque building in the Salzburg district of Nonntal, which is now used as a cultural venue. It is situated somewhat lost between high school buildings and the newly developed Unipark of Salzburg University. Initially, the site was occupied by a small chateaux with an extensive Baroque garden, which belonged to the family Fuchs von Hernau.

In 1786, the merchant Johann Oberfrininger purchased this property and re-built it more or less from scratch as "Oberfiningerhof". In 1881, the Imperial minister of foreign affairs of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Count Leopold Berchtold, bought the villa. Since then, it is known as Villa Berchtold.

In subsequent decades, the large garden of the property was filled up with housing developments. Today, only the alley leading to the villa is preserved. It is now a public road, the Josef-Preis-Allee. The claim to fame for the garden was the fact that it was the first in Salzburg to have lightning arresters installed - as early as in 1791.

Today, the Villa Berchtold is property of the city of Salzburg. It is used for art projects such as exhibitions and "artist in residence" type of events. Note the nearby Künstlerhaus, which follows similar objectives, as well as the ARGE Kultur further down the Josef-Preis-Allee; the Petersbrunnhof with the Schauspielhaus Salzburg is also nearby, making the neighbourhood surprisingly arty if you watch out for it.

Further Reading

http://artbv-salzburg.com/
Berchtoldvilla, official Website

http://www.salzburg.eu/
Information on the Villa Berchtold in German


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