New York Times.Com
International Real Estate House Hunting in…Austria
This three-story home dating to the 1760s was once in the Alpine village of Doellach, though in 2011 it was moved five miles and rebuilt at the foot of Mount Grossglockner, the highest peak in Austria. Called Hofstadl, the chalet, composed mainly of stone pine, has four bedrooms and spans 2,900 square feet. The exterior has an ornate scalloped fascia and two intricate lathed balconies; atop the roof are an antique farm bell and a skier weather vane.
The Austrian interior designer Wolfgang Hoffher interspersed antiques and other objects related to farming, hunting and skiing throughout the simple rustic interior of the chalet, and furnishings are included in the asking price. Most floors are of French limestone with underfloor heating, although some are of pine. The house has a recessed lighting system controlled by one switch near the front door; it is heated with a central wood-pellet burning system.
The front door opens to an entrance hall with a contemporary wood-burning cast iron stove designed in an 18th-century style. On the right, an antique wooden hayrack partitions off a dining area and an open farmhouse-style kitchen. Cabinets are reclaimed pine with a pale gray finish, and countertops are of French limestone. Appliances are by Miele, Siemens and Liebherr. The dining area has a large curved wooden bench and a round table that Marlies Muhr, the listing agent, described as “the most important social gathering point in the farmhouse,” adding, “All the working people, including the children, received their food at this table.”
Off the entrance hall to the left is a parlor with a tiled 17th-century wood-fired stove, a coffered ceiling with a quatrefoil in the center, and a long dining table with 10 chairs hand-carved in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Beyond the parlor are a bedroom with an 18th-century Tyrolean armoire, and a bath with a sink of petrified wood and a glass-encased shower with fixtures by Grohe. Nearby is what the owner calls a “wellness room,” which has a wall of broken slate, a large copper bathtub lined in nickel, a sauna and a glass-encased shower.
The second floor has two large living rooms with double-height ceilings. One has a wood-burning fireplace bordered with granite-quartz stone, as well as doors leading to the balcony, which spans the front and one side of the chalet. The other living room has a wall of large windows and a door opening to a terrace and outdoor dining area.
The second floor also has a pair of bedrooms atop mezzanines. Tucked under one of these is a bath; under the other are the master bedroom and another bath. The master, its walls covered in red check cloth by Ralph Lauren, has reading lamps suspended on old skis dating to the 1920s.
The house has a storage room, a utility room and a carport for two cars. The lot of almost a quarter acre is landscaped with native plants, Japanese boxwoods and other easy-maintenance vegetation, Ms. Muhr said. It is surrounded by national parkland, which offers climbing, skiing, hiking, cycling, golf and fly fishing. The closest village, Heiligenblut, is 2.5 miles away. The chalet, which is in southern Carinthia state, is only five miles from the border of Tyrol state, and the closest city, Lienz, is over the state border. It is 18 miles away and has a population of about 15,000. The closest international airport is a small one in Carinthia, which is 80 miles away; the Salzburg airport is about 100 miles away.
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