Samuel H. Kress
With generous funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, four art students and two professors from the Conservation Center, New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and the Winterthur / University of Delaware program in Art Conservation completed a three-year long-term project for the preservation of Schloss Leopoldskron.
Many important steps were taken to preserve the listed Schloss Leopoldskron for future generations, such as the inventory of over 1100 objects, the identification of storage places for historical objects, as well as the establishment of a conservation management team for the long-term preservation of the palace.
Climate Alliance
Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron has been a member of the Austrian climate alliance since 2014 and as such strives to actively pursue and live environmental and climate protection.
Various measures were introduced, such as resource-saving towel and cleaning agent management, a complete change to LED light bulbs as well as the addition of fair trade, organic amenities.
Since 2015, guests at Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron have access to charging stations for electric vehicles, and the Hotel uses an electric car to handle daily errands.
Renovation of Sea Horses and Statues
In 2015, as part of a crowdfunding campaign, the two iconic seahorses on the terrace as well as two Florentite fencer statues were restored.
Unfortunately, the moss covering, which seemed so romantic and which Max Reinhardt had treasured so much, had to be removed in order to allow thorough cleaning, repair of the damaged elements and subsequent restoration.
Renovation of the Gallery
A portrait gallery - that was the wish of Franz Lactanz Count Firmian, the heir to Leopoldskron palace, and the first use of this room under the roof when he added another floor to the palace after 1744. He used the room for his extensive portrait collection, which included works by top-class artists such as Rubens, Dürer, Rembrandt and Titian.
The Gallery offers a spectacular view of the Leopoldskroner Weiher and the Untersberg to the south, as well as to the Hohensalzburg Fortress to the north. But over the years, the Gallery has seen a variety of uses: as a dormitory for participants in the first session of the Salzburg Global Seminar, as a storeroom for furniture, as a dressing room for the CHANEL Métiers d'Art fashion show by Karl Lagerfeld in autumn 2014, as well as as a seminar room and event area.
In 2019 the renovation of the Gallery began. For this purpose, a five-stage renovation plan that is based on the historical model and includes the original floor plan, was drawn up. Among other things, the partition wall at the back was removed and the view of the south side opened up again. The theme of the portrait gallery of Lactanz Firmian was also taken up in such a way that instead of the old portraits, changing exhibitions can now be seen.
Master Plan and Climate Neutrality
Work is currently underway on a comprehensive master plan for the palace and the Meierhof, with surveyors, historians and craftsmen preparing analyzes and detailed offers for the renovation of the state rooms, improvements in technical possibilities, the further conservation of art, furniture and historical objects and steps towards installation of sustainable energy systems.
By using sustainable energy options our aim is to make the Meierhof and Schloss climate neutral.
The implementation of the master plan is to begin in the next few years.