Villa Suess, Sophie

Villa Suess stands on a low hill in Bad Gleichenberg, a spa town in the Steiermark. Built in 1845 by the Graz merchant H. v. Suess, it began as a summer retreat carved partly from rock taken from a nearby quarry. After changing hands in 1888, the house was connected to the water supply and renamed Villa Sophie in the 1920s. During the Second World War it served as a military hospital for wounded soldiers before being damaged in an air raid. Rebuilt under British occupation, it has since been restored and is now protected as a listed building. The villa’s square shape and two full storeys give it a symmetrical look. Each side measures about thirty metres, with corners cut off to form an octagon. Tall French windows on the first floor open onto small balconies, while the ground-floor windows stand just above waist height. Pilasters between the upper windows and triangular pediments above them add classical detail. The half-sunken cellar is built into solid rock, keeping the main floors cool in summer. Outside, the building sits on a broad lawn that slopes away on the western and south-western sides. Two roads curve past the house, one on the south-west and another on the south-east, leaving the front approach open. The setting on a gentle rise gives long views across the town and surrounding countryside, making the villa a quiet landmark above the spa gardens.