Mountain houses near Empress Maria Theresia – tunnels

After the attack on the Empress Maria Theresia Stollen, which was called Kaiser Franz Stollen until 1808, with great solemnity on September 26, 1775, the kk Ministerial - Banko - Hof - Deputation approved the construction of a mountain house on Steinbalfen with a resolution of February 25, 1782 , the later so-called "Old Mountain House".

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The building, which was built in 1783, originally contained one large and two small servants' rooms and a kitchen on the ground floor, on the first floor two master rooms, a kitchen and a room with a chamber for one spectator. The construction costs were 2,693 fl 30 kr. (in 2020 approx. €53,900 monetary value according to the “Historical Currency Calculator”, www.eurologische.at).

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The core substance of the Old Theresia Berghaus took up a floor plan area of 15.2 x 9.8 m, reached an eaves height of 6.9 m and a ridge height of 10.7 m. The double roof truss was covered with larch boards and in the eaves area with sheet metal strips . The living conditions can be illustrated by the fact that 24 servants slept on the ground floor on 44.5 m², while the viewer alone had a 18.5 m² bedroom at his disposal.

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As early as 1784, the mountain forge was built as the second mountain building directly at the mouth of the Maria Theresia tunnel.