Summer house in the vicarage garden

In the Biedermeier period, social gatherings in nature and enjoyment of nature itself were extremely popular, be it in gardens or in the great outdoors. As such, a standard element of Biedermeier gardens was summer houses which were built in varying designs. This was also the case in Ischl. Only very few of them have survived to this day.

In the case of the summer house at Kirchengasse 3, a summer house in the vicarage garden was mentioned as early as 1785, but it was possibly rebuilt around 1840. It accommodated many of the most prominent summer guests at the time, including Emperor Ferdinand and his wife, Empress Dowager Carolina, Archduke Franz Karl with Archduchess Sophie, Archduke Franz Joseph (later emperor), Archduke Rudolf (see monument in Rudolf’s Park), members of the high nobility such as the Esterhazy, Stolberg-Wernigerode, Bishop Rudigier of Linz, and others.

The house has a flat-pitched gable roof that is similar to a temple gable. The house’s strictly symmetrical façade refers to late classicism. The shutters on its windows, which are typical of summer resort architecture, provide a cheerful touch.

In the 20th century, the house was neglected. In 2011, it was completely renovated. Biedermeier tendril ornaments could be discovered in the gable behind layers of paint until the renovation, when they were painted over during the last recolouring. In the interior one could see remnants of stencil painting.

The house is not open to the public.

It was part of the garden of the old vicarage (today, Sparkassenplatz 2), which was demolished in 2012.