Dispute over work of art:

“Lioness” fights for her stucco work in courtyard

Artist Praher is asking to be allowed to keep her stucco work in the Löwinnenhof and therefore also to restore it. However, the Immo administration wants to have the poem removed in the spring, in accordance with the requirements of the Monuments Office.

(Bild: Molnar Attila)

A small work of art adorns the wall in the "Löwinnenhof" courtyard in St. Pölten. But now it has to go, even though artist Isabella Praher had several permits. At least one hopes for understanding.

Isabella Praher has mastered the ancient craft of stucco work. And it was precisely this talent that the artist used to embellish a wall of the Löwen- to Löwinnenhof, a patch of history that had been changed from Löwenhof to Löwinnenhof, as part of the "Tangente" cultural festival. But as soon as the art spectacle was over, the Immo administration ordered the "poem in stucco writing" to be removed for legal reasons due to monument protection regulations.

Several permits
To the horror of the artist! She pulls several permits out of her pocket stating that the "Ode to the Sun" may remain. "I have written approval from both the Tangente management and experts from the Federal Monuments Office," claims "Bella" Praher. Since last summer, wind and weather have taken their toll on the poem in the otherwise unattractive ambience of the gray courtyard. But Praher would love nothing more than to restore everything. The originally forgotten comma included

Understanding is endless
Understanding comes from Mayor Matthias Stadler, who greatly appreciates Isabella Praher's creativity, but nevertheless insists that the stucco work was applied without the prior consent of the owner's representative and the Federal Monuments Office. As part of the façade repairs, the work must now be removed - as agreed by the parties involved.

After a further consultation with the relevant officer at the magistrate's office, where she was received sympathetically, there was understanding for the case, says Praher: "After all, this is real stucco, the kind that is rarely created anymore."