Reichenau an der Rax

We are spending a couple of days in Reichenau an der Rax at my sister's place.

This is Schloss Reichenau (the castle).

During the last years of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, rich Viennese citizens and 

the aristocracy came here to spend their summers. 

This is the Villa Wartholz. It is the place where the son of the last Austrian Emperor was born. 

His name was Otto Habsburg. 

Now the Villa Wartholz and its 19-acre estate are owned by a family who does historic gardens. 

They have a very nice coffee house.

The aristocracy came here for the hunting and in fact, 

we saw a deer on our walk through the woods today. 

We went to the public pool in Edlach, just one village over, 

but it started to rain. We will try it again tomorrow.

This is a restaurant called Flackl. The beautiful woodwork is typical for the area. 

 Many famous artists and writers used to spend their summers in Reichenau. 

One of them was Arthur Schnitzler. 

Schnitzler was a physician, but his heart belonged to writing. 

His plays and short stories focus on the morals and failings of Austria's high-strung 

society before World War I and

give great insight into human nature.

 During the summer, Reichenau has a small but high-carat theater festival celebrating this heritage.