Kremsmünstererhaus

The Kremsmünsterer Stiftshaus stands in Linz’s old town on Tummelplatz. It was once the property of Emperor Friedrich III before passing to Bernhard von Scherffenberg and later to Stift Kremsmünster. The building’s current Renaissance form took shape between 1579 and 1580 under architect Christoph Canevale. Further alterations followed in the early 17th century, including work by Marx Martin Spaz. After damage in the 1800 city fire, it was restored under Abbot Wolfgang Leuthner. The house is a grand Renaissance structure with a symmetrical five-bay front and two rounded towers capped with onion domes. Its narrow courtyard leads to a four-bay rear building on Tummelplatz. The main entrance features a large rusticated archway with a 1710 coat of arms. Inside, a barrel-vaulted central passage and a three-flight staircase with cross-ribbed vaults dominate the ground floor. Rooms display a mix of barrel vaults, groin vaults and lunettes, while the upper floors show fine Renaissance ceilings and baroque doors. Visitors find richly decorated interiors including a figure of Saint John of Nepomuk in the staircase niche. Kelheimer stone floors and elaborate stucco frames add to the effect. A small chapel in the north wing holds a memorial space for Emperor Friedrich III. The building’s layered history is visible in reused elements like the 16th-century ceiling from Schloss Hagen. Its quiet courtyard and carefully preserved details offer a glimpse into Linz’s architectural past.