Zeiselhof

The Zeiselhof is a historic farm settlement in Deutsch Jahrndorf, Burgenland, near the Austrian-Hungarian border. It once belonged to the Zichy noble family before passing to Elemér Lónyay and Archduchess Stephanie of Habsburg, who ran a distillery and mill there. After Burgenland became part of Austria in 1921, the farm’s land was split by the new border, yet special agreements allowed workers to cross freely and harvests to move without tariffs. The estate is now home to Benedictine monks from St. Martinsberg Abbey in Hungary. Since 2005 it has served as the seat of the Hungarian Benedictine superiors in Austria. A key landmark is the Baroque Holy Cross Chapel, built in 1764 by the Zichys and protected as a monument. The chapel hosts the annual ‘Lost Sheep’ pilgrimage and features a striking ceiling fresco by Franz Anton Maulbertsch. Visitors find a quiet farmyard with the chapel’s west-facing façade and small east tower. Inside, the east portal’s ornate stone frame and wrought-iron grille bear the date 1674. The single-room chapel’s flattish apse and modest roof lantern frame Maulbertsch’s dramatic depiction of Christ’s ascension. Beyond the buildings, the surrounding flatlands stretch toward the Neusiedler See, marking the edge of the Pannonian Plain.