Palais Arnstein

"Palais Arnstein" was a palace in Vienna¹. The building was constructed in 1794-96 by the merchant Franz Natorp. The Jewish noble Nathan Adam von Arnstein rented the palace, since Jews were not allowed to own property in the city [pg. 103, Dieter Klein, Martin Kupf, Robert Schediwy (Ed.) Stadtbildverluste Wien - Ein Rückblick auf fünf Jahrzehnte. LIT Verlag, Vienna 2005. ISBN 3-8258-7754-X] .

The Salon of Baroness Fanny von Arnstein

Fanny von Arnstein, married to the banker Nathan, was born into the Itzig family of Berlin, the daughter of the banker Daniel Itzig.

She established a salon in the Arnstein mansion, which quickly became a focus of Vienna's intellectual and cultural life. This had some effect in removing the barriers between the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the Jewish citizens of Vienna. Her sister Cäcilie von Eskeles also had her own salon in Vienna.

The palace saw many balls, concerts and literature readings. This made Baroness Arnstein very well-known and highly-esteemed: even Emperor Josef II called her his friend and would pay visits. During the Vienna Congress, the salon was a meeting-point for diplomats for informal talks, even hosting the likes of state chancellor Prince Metternich.

After the death of Fanny von Arnstein, her daughter Henriette von Pereira-Arnstein continued her mother's tradition as salonière.

The building

The palace was hit by bombs during World War II and burned. Nevertheless, the building remained standing. At first there were plans for renovation, however the palace was torn down in 1952 for real estate speculation, and a modern building was erected in its place instead [pg. 103, Dieter Klein, Martin Kupf, Robert Schediwy (Ed.) Stadtbildverluste Wien - Ein Rückblick auf fünf Jahrzehnte. LIT Verlag, Vienna 2005.] .

ee also

* Fanny von Arnstein
* Itzig family
* History of the Jews in Austria

Notes

¹ Address was at Hoher Markt 1, in the I. District Innere Stadt

References

Literature

* Michaela Feurstein, Gerhard Milchram. "Jüdisches Wien". Boehlau Verlag, Vienna. 2001. ISBN 3-205-99094-3