In Feldkirchen/Danube

Sale of Bergheim Castle halted after all

Bergheim Castle is currently still a school site. If Mayor David Allerstorfer has his way, it will remain so in the future.(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

A brilliant idea or the final decline into a deep sleep? Bergheim Castle in Feldkirchen an der Donau is off the open market again and the sale is off the table (for the time being).

It would be a cultural disaster if Bergheim Castle were simply sold to the highest bidder. As a municipality, we are continuing to fight for a sensible subsequent use," Feldkirchen's mayor David Allerstorfer said in July in response to an inquiry from Krone, after the former aristocratic residence had been offered by a luxury estate agent in Linz. Reported value including 16 hectares of land: five million euros. Estate agent Diether Raffelsberger had even confirmed that there was "surprisingly brisk demand".

But now the turnaround: Schloss Bergheim in Feldkirchen an der Donau is off the open market again and the sale has been halted. "I had a meeting with the new management of the state real estate company and they apparently want to take a different path," says Allerstorfer, pleased that the wishes expressed for many years for a "joint development" appear to have been heard after all.

School dedication prevents other uses
The head of the local SP party also reported the estate agent to the local authority because the tender stated that there were many possible uses for the site. "In reality, there is a school dedication on the building and this prevents other uses," says Allerstorfer. Deputy Mayor Sabine Lindorfer (VP) immediately posted that the castle had been proposed to the state of Upper Austria as a location for the digital university.

"Will develop plan B"
This would honor the wishes of the testator, Zenaide von Hirsch-Gereuth (deceased 1909), who bequeathed the estate to the state on the condition that a school be run here. From the 2026/27 school year, the agricultural college currently still located here will move to the new Waizenkirchen site. "We will definitely develop a plan B," says Allerstorfer, as the castle also houses the building yard and the waste collection center and potential alternative locations are to be sought for these, as it is still unclear how the castle will be used in the future.

For the province of Upper Austria, one thing is certain: it should not only cost money, but also bring something.