Sold-out tours bring visitors back to Hirschenstein lung sanatorium

Mystery tours have brought visitors back to a former lung sanatorium at Hirschenstein, near Rechnitz in Burgenland. The tours, held around All Saints’ Day, sold out quickly, ORF reports.

The building has stood empty since 2012. It opened in 1955, when demand for treatment places was high, and had 165 beds, according to Josefine Stipits, a former nurse there. Patients with lung diseases were treated at the sanatorium until 1986, after which it also served as a nursing home.

The facility was also intended to create jobs in a region with few employment opportunities, said Engelbert Kenyeri, chairman of the Geschriebenstein nature park and a former mayor of Rechnitz. The building belongs to the state of Burgenland and is surrounded by nearly four hectares of forest.

Ideas for reusing the property have included a beauty clinic and a facility for treating burnout, Kenyeri said, but none has gone ahead. He hopes the tours can resume in spring, and discussions are under way with Landesimmobilien Burgenland, the state property company.

Kenyeri said the building’s location and existing infrastructure give it potential for a new use. It is under heritage protection.