The history of the Helenenburg Hotel and Spa

The Villa Helenenburg, which took its name from its previous owner, Princess Helene Czetwertinsky, was built in 1864 and has been fitted out with guest rooms over the years.

Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, Queen of Hungary, came to Helenenburg five times from 1888 for several weeks at a time. The shy Empress preferred it here, as it had a more open location than the hotels in the centre of Bad Gastein. Her daughter, Archduchess Marie Valérie, accompanied her melancholy mother to the Helenenburg, all of which was rented by them.

When Elizabeth whiled away her time here, Emperor Franz Joseph also enjoyed coming to Gastein for a few days; he stayed in the Hotel Straubinger and visited his beloved Sisi at Helenenburg every day, to have breakfast with her and go for walks together.

When the Helenenburg was to be put on the market in 1891, Emperor Franz Joseph even toyed with the idea of putting in an offer because, as he wrote in a letter to Empress Elizabeth, "a hotel that meets all requirements and in such a good location no longer exists in Gastein".

Empress Elisabeth	Emperor Franz Joseph	Archduchess Marie Valérie

Since 1907, the Helenenburg has belonged to the Evangelical deaconry of Gallneukirchen.
Very soon the deaconess-run establishment was enjoying an excellent reputation and
attracted many guests.

Margarete Huemer 1. Diakonisse in house	Couple Backhaus and Diakonissen

Regular guests of the hotel included Queen Charlotte of Württemberg, Princess Alexandra of Schaumburg-Lippe, and the famous pianist Wilhelm Backhaus. Even Leopold Figl signed the
guest book.

Queen Charlotte von Württemberg	Princess Alexandra zu Schaumberg-Lippe	Leopold Figl

Over the years, the Helenenburg has been regularly extended and modernised. Yet, when you
walk into the hotel today, its history is still very much alive ...