Goldschmiedschlössl Kleintal

The Goldschmiedschlössl stands west of Übelbach village in the Steiermark, beside the Gleinalm road which soon ends as a cul-de-sac. It is a late-baroque Josephinische hammerherrenhaus, a grand home built by early industrialists who made their fortune making metal goods. The building is listed as a protected monument. The house was finished in 1783 by Balthasar Schröckenfuchs the younger, whose father had run a scythe forge in the Übelbach valley. After the family firm could no longer compete with larger works in the 19th century, the Pacherneggs sold the property early in the 20th century. In 1980 the forester Constantin von Pott bought it and carried out careful restoration before his death in 2013. The estate has passed through several owners since and remains unsold. The two-storey building forms a U-shaped plan around a western courtyard with stables and outbuildings. Its thirteen-window east front faces the remains of a baroque ornamental garden. A central projecting pavilion carries a balcony on four columns above a double door. The main entrance now lies at the western court, marked by square piers and a small stone vase on each side. Inside the gate hangs a coat of arms with a large kettle, a playful nod to the name of Constantin von Pott. Across the road stands a simple chapel painted in the house colours, flanked by two fine sandstone saints.