Once upon a time...
The story
of our castle.
With us your personal holiday dreams come true. We would like to give you an insight into the lived and experienced history of our Chalet mySchlössl in Flachau. From people with heartfelt desires to the secrets of architecture.
The history of the castle begins in 1922 with the construction of the internationally known "coffee mill". The star architect Lois Welzenbacher creates a true masterpiece. Professor Lois Welzenbacher (1889 - 1955) is considered one of the most important Austrian architects of the interwar period and is known for his "International Style". One of his lighthouse projects is the Settari House in South Tyrol, built in 1922 - also known in insider circles as the Coffee Mill. This is one of the most convincing architectural buildings in the Alpine region and is visited and literally touched by thousands of visitors - especially architects - every year.
At an exhibition of Lois Welzenbacher in Innsbruck Robert Costa discovers the coffee mill. And he falls in love with her. It's the proverbial love at first sight.
Already in childhood he has a dream - the dream of his own little castle, which he designs and builds himself. Robert is fascinated by the coffee mill: the perfect proportions and the spiral architecture that grows from the chimney pillar upwards into the sky. And the dream of the castle won't let him go.
Robert's heart's desire of owning his own little castle becomes reality in 1990. Following the example of the coffee mill, Robert painstakingly builds his own "Costa Castle" on the edge of the forest in Flachau. His mission: to create a symbiosis between the original architecture outside and genuine craftsmanship inside.
Robert Costa fulfils his dream with the Schlössl. This is exactly what you feel when you enter the Schlössl. Robert painstakingly sets each stone. And he develops the interior design and furniture by hand. Everything is unique and bears the unmistakable signature of the craftsman and painter: handmade doors and windows from 400-year-old oak foundations. A hand-carved stone pine parlour with baroque elements. The counter-rotating spiral staircase or the leaf-gilded "Mascherln" for his wife Jutta. Robert is a perfectionist and detail oriented. For him, every millimeter has to fit. After 4 years, Robert's dream becomes reality in 1994: with his very own Schlössl.
When Robert Costa builds the Schlössl, he is actively supported by his friend and neighbour Willi Gappmaier. Even then Willi finds the house enchanting and fascinating. What he doesn't know is that he and his family will one day become castle owners. For Robert, who has no descendants, it soon becomes clear: the castle needs a new lord in the future. And so it happens - at the age of 78 Robert hands over his castle to Willi and his family with tears of joy.
My castle
Your castle
After the purchase and at the official handover, Robert Costa says a special sentence to Willi: "My castle is now your castle". And it is precisely with this guiding principle that the Gappmaier family is leading the Schlössl into the future and making it accessible and experienceable for guests from all over the world - so that they can spend their holidays in their own, very personal Schlössl. A castle that enchants, captivates people and will write many more stories.
