Here, German citizens tagged as mentally or physically unfit were killed using poison gas.

The program began as a form of involuntary euthanasia. A section of the law that allowed for the painless killing of incurably ill patients.

However, once in power, the Third Reich stretched the concept to include Jews, homosexuals, Communists, and other “undesirables”.

Records show that the Nazi administrators calculated how much money could be saved by killing those in society deemed unfit to contribute. In death, these people would no longer be a burden on state resources.

Concentration camp inmates unable to work were also executed within the castle walls.

As a precursor to the arrival of the “Final Solution”, many of the head doctors at Hartheim honed their trade at the castle, before perfecting their efficiency for mass killing inside the death camps.

History of Hartheim Castle

The present Hartheim castle in the municipality of Alkoven, near Linz, Austria, was built at the end of the 16th century. However, the remains of a previous construction on the site date from as early as the ninth century.

By the end of the 18th century, (1793) Princes of Starhemberg resided in Hartheim. It remained in the family line for over 100 years before being donated to the Landes wohltätigkeitsverein in Oberösterreich, in 1898.

From then, until the Nazis took over, it was a home for the physically and mentally handicapped.

Nazi killing Facility

Confiscated by the Nazis towards the end of 1939 the castle was quickly converted into an Action T4 euthanasia center, complete with a gas chamber and two crematoria.

The systematic murder of mentally ill patients took place immediately. The initial subjects were the original hospital residents.
Soon more and more undesirables were being shipped in.

Staff quarters were located on the upper floors, executions took place within the gas chamber on the ground floor.

Located next to the main courtyard, the chamber was disguised as a shower room. Upon arrival at the facility, victims were rounded up and escorted inside. With a capacity of 150 persons, it was an efficient method of disposal.

Victims entered the castle via a wooden annex on the western side. This was done so that current prisoners awaiting their fate did not see the arrival of them.

During the first month of operation in May 1940, 633 patients were gassed. The speed of the killing would rise exponentially as time went on, however.

To keep up with the demand for new arrivals, four large grey buses run by the Gekrat organization were used to ship the victims to the castle. The source of humans came from the local community and nearby concentration camps.

After each gassing, the chamber was opened up and staff would extract gold teeth from the corpses. The bodies were then loaded into the two large crematoria.

If any bones were evident in the ashes following cremation a bone mill was used to pulverize them into dust.

Once a week a lorry left the castle and dumped the ashes in the river Donau.

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Crimes not Unnoticed

Despite the Nazi’s efforts to keep events inside Hartheim a secret, the population close to the castle was aware that something sinister was taking place.

Smoke billowed from the castle within hours of a new busload of arrivals.

On days the breeze carried the acrid smog above the town of Hartheim, the stench of burnt flesh and hair filled the air, causing local residents to be physically sick.

And then there was the undeniable fact that busloads of people were arriving at the castle with very few ever leaving.

Rumors persisted. When pressed about the situation at Hartheim, the authorities stated that the burning was caused by contaminated oil.

Before long threats were issued against anyone speaking out. The Nazis were starting their journey along a path that would eventually lead to the wider death of some 6 million jews.

Number of Victims

The number of deaths at Hartheim has become a mere footnote when compared to the overall death toll that followed as a result of Nazi genocide attempts.

However, the numbers are still significant by any measure of the inhumane.

It is difficult to ascertain definitive figures as the staff at Hattheim destroyed almost all records after the site was abandoned.

That being said, by August 1941 it is believed the death toll could have been as high as 18,000.

A concerted push to deliver victims to the castle during the Sonderbehandlung 14f13 operation may have added a further 12,000 murders to the toll.

What is known is that Hartheim was the worst of the six T4 centers in terms of killing rates, with at least 30,000 souls ushered through the entrance, never to be seen again.

The last gassing at Hartheim took place on 11 December 1944. Soon after, inmates of the nearby Mauthausen concentration camp were brought in to dismantle and remove the gassing installations and crematoria.

Investigations after the war

Investigations into the former gassing facility at Hartheim took place in the immediate aftermath of WWII.

American investigating officer Charles Dameron discovered damning evidence after breaking into a steel safe.

Inside was a 39-page document with information on the Nazi euthanasia program, intended for internal purposes only.

It contained monthly statistics of the gassing of patients (labeled “disinfection”) taking place in the six T4 euthanasia facilities.

Also inside were calculations on the cost-saving implications of large scale disinfection. By murdering 70,273 people with a life expectancy of 10 years or less, the Reich could save food in the value of 141,775,573.80 Reichsmarks.

Hartheim Castle as a Memorial

After the war, US occupation authorities gave the castle back to the original owners and it became a facility to house refugees.

By 1960, a small memorial was built at the site, with plaques inside the courtyard.

Curiously, it wasn’t until the 1990s that a memorial befitting the level of atrocity that took place at Hartheim was commissioned. The government agreed to finance a dedicated exhibition and memorial center.

These were first opened to the public in 2003. Named, “Lern- und Gedenkort” (learning and remembrance), Hartheim is now an appropriate place of commemoration while providing information surrounding this dark chapter of German history.

Where is Hartheim Castle?

• Address: Schloßstraße 1, 4072 Alkoven, Austria
• Phone: +43 7274 6536546
• Website

Visiting Hartheim Castle Today

Entering the castle takes you through the courtyard where you will find memorial plaques commemorating victims of the Mauthausen and Dachau concentration camps.

Beyond this is a meditation room before you reach the main rooms that housed the gas chamber installation.

This area is obviously the main part of the exhibition. However, it makes sense to leave this for last. Entering the former chamber after learning about the history provided by the rest of the exhibition is recommended.

The expected order of viewing encourages you to enter the castle on the left side of the courtyard.

Inside here you will find a memorial installation located on the spot the arrival shed used to stand. Beyond this, you enter the first exhibition room.

In this part of the castle (consisting of three rooms), Hartheim’s role in the Nazi T4 program is the point of focus. It covers the backgrounds of the perpetrators, and homage is made to the known victims.

Photos and text make up the bulk of the exhibition with a few artifacts on display that were used while the castle was a killing facility, (asbestos gloves from the crematorium for example).

Personal effects belonging to some of the victims were found recently in the gardens and these are also on display.

Some information is displayed via audio/visual means. There is also an interactive computer station with copies of documents about the victims.

A lot of this is in German making it difficult for tourists to garner all the info put forward. There is enough in English to get the overall point, however.

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The former gas chamber

The rooms where the mass killings took place are extremely chilling, in the mere knowledge of what went on.

An elevated walkway leads you through these rooms which helps highlight the fact the floors are from the original chamber. Thousands of corpses once laid there.

The first “admission room” is where victims were made to undress and were photographed for the Nazi files. The second room is the main gas chamber.

Here is a simple glass display, bearing all the names of the known victims. In small, dense text thousands of names are listed. It is a harrowing indication as to the extent of the killing.

The exhibition also takes you through the rooms that housed the morgue and crematorium, (all equipment has long since been removed).

Empty, except for a single red candle and a bouquet of flowers, it is impossible not to be moved.

Wert des Lebens / Value of Life

On the first floor of the castle (in the former staff quarters) is another exhibition entitled Wert des Lebens.

This covers subjects such as eugenics in the early 20th century, modern ethical issues concerning biosciences and genetics, and changing attitudes towards and treatment of disabled people.

At the time of writing, however, there are no English translations in this area of the castle.

Featured Image: Liberaler Humanist, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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I have an insatiable wanderlust for the extraordinary. Born with an adventurous spirit, I have spent over the past decade exploring the far reaches of our planet, seeking out the strange and mysterious.

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Not only was Moosham the administrative center of the Zaubererjackl witch trials, (commonly thought of as the bloodiest in Austria), it was also the site for werewolf hunts in the 1800s.

All of this makes for a sinister destination to check out if you are a dark tourist fan.

History of Moosham Castle

Moosham Castle is believed to have been built on the foundations of a Roman castrum fortress. Unfortunately, no traces of the earlier structure remain.

However, we do know that the construction of the castle began soon after 1191, as this is the date of the original deed.

Then there’s a gap in the records of close to a hundred years, the next mention being the seizing of the property by the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg in 1285.

In the 14th century onwards the castle was the residence of an episcopal burgrave.

Things got interesting in the late 15th century with the arrival of Prince-Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach. He took over the castle in 1495 and began a large rebuilding and extension project. Much of what is visible today is the product of those works.

In 1520, Moosham became an administrative seat of the Lungau region. It was during this time that the castle was besieged due to the German Peasants’ War.

However, this was not the first time the castle had faced adversity and bloodletting.

As with much of Europe at the time, there were numerous wars and conflicts that had an impact on the area.

From the passing Crusaders to the multiple Austrian-Hungarian Wars, the Flemish Revolt, even the Italian Wars, Moosham did not live through these unscathed.

Add these to local battles and the arrival of the witch trials and you begin to appreciate the amount of death Moosham has witnessed over the centuries.

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The Salzburg Witch Trials

Moosham castle took center stage during the Salzburg witch trials between 1675 and 1690. As the administrative center both trial, sentencing and execution were held there.

139 people were killed in total. Horrifically, 39 children between the ages of 10 and 14 were accused and executed for witchcraft. 53 teenagers also met a bloody end.

Unusually a large portion was male (113). All except two individuals to be murdered were beggars.

The records named every single victim. The youngest, a boy named Hannerl, had just turned 10. The eldest, a Margarethe Reinberg, was 80 years old.

The method of execution was brutal, even for the time. The sadistic authorities preferred a process of slow torture.

Only when an individual was close to death would they be offered the small mercy of hanging or decapitation.

They made an example of the children by chopping their hands off and marking their chests with a burning iron. They were then kept alive and paraded in front of the locals as a warning.

The fact that the victims were almost universally homeless cannot be ignored. There was mass hysteria due to plague, disease, the spread of famine, and general post-war poverty and hygiene.

These unfortunate souls were seen as carriers of all that was bad and ungodly. They had no one to vouch for them. To accuse them of sorcery was a quick and easy way to get rid of them.

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Werewolves at Moosham Castle

After the witch trials, Moosham reverted back to business as normal. However, by the late 18th Century the castle experienced another troubled period.

Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colloredo dissolved the Moosham bailiwick in 1790, and without funding from the church, the building fell into a state of disrepair.

Not long after that, there were reports of deer and cattle and being found dead in the castle grounds.

The bloodthirsty locals immediately jumped to the “logical” conclusion that werewolves were at the castle.

The then residents of Moosham were rounded up and duly murdered for their nocturnal predilections.

For several decades afterward, Moosham remained abandoned. It wasn’t until 1886 when Austrian explorer and patron of the arts Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek purchased and moved into the property that life once again graced its walls.

He began a long process of restoration and it remains in the family to this day.

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Where is Moosham Castle?

• Address: Moosham 13, 5585 Unternberg, Austria
• Phone: +43 6476 305
• Website

The castle is open every day except Mondays and public holidays.

Moosham Castle Today

Though Moosham is privately owned, it is open to the public. There are rooms featuring Wilczek’s extensive art collection, and accommodation can be booked there.

This is especially popular for believers of the supernatural looking out for the castle’s many ghosts.

It is rumored that the screams of witch trial victims can be heard at night. Werewolves apparently still prowl the grounds.

For those of us that take such tales with a pinch of salt, a day trip to see the castle and enjoy the museum is definitely recommended.

The latter focuses on the way people lived throughout the life of the castle, (both residents and the local population).

There is a large collection of sculptures, paintings, corrals, and hunting weapons. There’s also artifacts from the witch trials such as the executioner’s sword, and a replica torture chamber.

Also of note is the Polar Expedition exhibit. Wilczek was the main sponsor of the Austro-Hungarian North-Pole Expedition in 1872–74, and the castle contains interesting artifacts related to it.

Guided tours are offered year-round (except for November to mid-December) and are well worth paying for.

Featured Image: Renedrivers / CC BY-SA 3.0 AT

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I have an insatiable wanderlust for the extraordinary. Born with an adventurous spirit, I have spent over the past decade exploring the far reaches of our planet, seeking out the strange and mysterious.

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Tucked away at the edge of a forested mountain in the Austrian Alps, complete with the crystal blue waters of Hallstatt lake, it’s a destination more suited to those in search of the Von Trapps than anyone looking for a suitable dark tourist experience.

Well, fear not, you search hard enough and there’s a good dose of the macabre everywhere you go.

In Hallstatt, it is in the form of a 12th-century chapel, and the unassuming Charnel House close by. Here you will find a room filled with over 1200 human skulls, over half of which have been intricately painted.

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Inside the Hallstatt Beinhaus (Charnel House)

Due to the idyllic, picturesque mountainside location of Hallstatt, burying the dead has long been a problem. With burial grounds in short supply, by the 1700s the townsfolk were running out of space for the newly deceased.

To alleviate the problem, the church began digging up old corpses to make way for new ones. The freshly exhumed bones (of bodies buried for up to 15 years) were then bleached in the sun and stacked up in the Charnel House.

Lovingly painted human skulls

Around 1720, a tradition started for the bones to be decorated.

To make up for the indignancy, family members would write the names and birth/death dates onto the skulls, along with decorative symbolic motifs.

Some 610 skulls have been lovingly decorated. Those completed during the 1700s are painted with thick dark garlands. Later trends in the 1800s saw brighter floral styles being used.

The final addition

By the 1960s the tradition had all but stopped. Cremation became the most common way of disposing of the dead.

However, the final skull to be added to the Hallstatt Beinhaus is that of a woman who died in 1983. Her last request was to be added to the Charnel House.

You can see her skull beside the cross in the bone room. Her’s is the one with the gold tooth.

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Where is the Hallstatt Beinhaus

• Address: Friedhof 164, 4830 Hallstatt, Austria
• Price: Adult/Child €1.50/0.50

How to get there

A ferry journey is required for most people arriving at Hallstatt. If you are taking a train or bus from Vienna or Salzburg, you will arrive at Hallstatt train station which is actually the other side of the lake from the main town.

However, the ferry journey is short and is all part of the charm. Signs clearly mark where you catch the ferry and you can buy your tickets once aboard.

Once in the town head towards the cemetery next to St. Micheal’s Chapel. You’ll need to ascend some steep steps but the view is also worth it.

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I have an insatiable wanderlust for the extraordinary. Born with an adventurous spirit, I have spent over the past decade exploring the far reaches of our planet, seeking out the strange and mysterious.

darktourists.com/