Sale of Stefan Zweig’s Former Salzburg Home

The Paschinger Schlössl, a stately mansion on the Kapuzinerberg in Salzburg, was bought by German car magnate Wolfgang Porsche in 2020 for €8.4 million (about $9.59 million). Porsche acquired the property from the Gollhofer family, who had owned it since the writer’s first wife, Friderike, sold it in 1937 for 63,000 shillings. The house served as Stefan Zweig’s writing retreat after he purchased it in 1917; the director of the university’s Stefan Zweig Center says the 15 years he spent there were his most fertile. In June, the mansion was listed for sale by French luxury-real-estate firm Le Figaro Properties at $14,540,900, highlighting a 2025 city-granted permission for a private access road and tunneled parking on the mountain.

New York Times

A revived campaign urges the city or the University of Salzburg to acquire the property for public benefit. University rector Bernhard Fügenschuh says a purchase “depends on the seller” but expresses hope that the university could buy the estate.

New York Times

A spokesperson for Porsche Automobil Holding in Stuttgart declined to comment, describing the matter as purely private. The city’s 2025 planning permission for the private road remains a point of contention, with critics arguing it gives the owner an “unparalleled feature” that may deter public acquisition.

New York Times

• “Regrettably, we are unable to comment on this matter, as it concerns a purely private matter on which Dr. Porsche has not made any public statements to date.” — Stuttgart

New York Times