Lern- und Gedenkort Schloss Hartheim

Om museet

The Renaissance palace of Hartheim in the municipality of Alkoven was built at the beginning of the 17th century. At the end of the 19th century, Prince Starhemberg donated it to the Upper Austrian Provincial Charity Association, which had people with disabilities cared for here from 1898; the care was provided by the Sisters of Mercy.

After the "Anschluss", the palace passed to the Reichsgau Oberdonau. In spring 1940 it was converted into a killing centre of "Aktion T4" within a few weeks. Until 1944, around 30,000 people were murdered here with gas: people with disabilities and mental illnesses from institutions and homes, prisoners unfit for work from Mauthausen-Gusen, Dachau and Ravensbrück, as well as forced labourers. Around the turn of the year 1944/45, the traces of the killing facilities were largely removed.

After 1945 the palace served as accommodation for displaced persons, refugees and later flood victims; up to 30 tenant households lived in it. The first memorial rooms were created in 1969. The Verein Schloss Hartheim, founded in 1995, campaigned for its exclusive use as a place of remembrance and learning; after renovation, the Learning and Memorial Site opened in 2003. In 2002, human remains of victims were buried in a cemetery on the east side of the palace.

The memorial with documentation rooms, the former killing rooms and a room of silence is on the ground floor. On the first floor, the permanent exhibition "Wert des Lebens", reopened in 2021, shows how societies since the Enlightenment have treated people deemed "useless". A documentation centre researches victims' biographies.

Højdepunkter

• Former killing rooms and documentation rooms of the memorial
• Permanent exhibition "Wert des Lebens" (reopened 2021)
• Room of silence and cemetery on the east side of the palace
• Renaissance palace from the early 17th century
• App with texts in Easy Language, sign language videos and foreign languages

Permanente udstillinger

• Gedenkstätte – Documentation rooms on Nazi euthanasia with victims' biographies and perpetrator profiles, as well as the former rooms of the killing operation and a room of silence on the ground floor.
• Wert des Lebens. Der Umgang mit den „Unbrauchbaren“ – Spans the period from the Enlightenment to today and asks who classifies people as "useless", what consequences this had, and what inclusive alternatives look like.

Grundlagt

2003

Ejer

Verein Schloss Hartheim

Ledelse

Florian Schwanninger

Entrépriser & rabatter

The memorial is accessible free of charge; the admission price applies to the exhibition "Wert des Lebens". Visits are free for relatives of victims, companions of people with disabilities and holders of the Kulturpass "Hunger auf Kunst & Kultur". Donations welcome.

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator: ingen oplysninger
• Handicaptoilet: ingen oplysninger
• Handicapparkering: ingen oplysninger
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

The memorial, exhibition and outdoor areas are fully wheelchair accessible; wheelchair loan free of charge in the shop or at the ticket desk. The historic staircases are steep and narrow. An app offers the exhibition texts in Easy Language, with sign language videos, as audio and in foreign languages; also tour brochures in Easy Language and guided visits in easy-to-understand language. Assistance dogs permitted.

Børn og familie

Kun delvist egnet til børnAnbefales fra 14 år

Recommended minimum age: 14 years for the memorial, 10 years for the exhibition. Educational programmes for school classes from school year 8.

Transport & parkering

By car via the B 129 on the right bank of the Danube (from Linz via Wilhering) or via Eferding. By bike via the nearby Danube Cycle Path.

Service & spisesteder

• Café
• Museumsbutik

Shop with specialist literature in the entrance area. The socially inclusive Café Lebenswert (Arkadenweg 2) is located nearby (Monday–Thursday 9:30 am–3:15 pm, Friday 9:30 am–12:15 pm); groups please register, snacks for school classes on order.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje

Four seminar rooms and one hall can be booked during opening hours – only for events with a substantive connection to the history of the site.

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