The Ghost Staircase in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace

One of the largest palace complexes in the world is the Hofburg Palace in the Austrian capital of Vienna, which was the residence of the Habsburg imperial family from the 13th century until 1918 and has been the official residence of the Austrian Federal President since 1946. This historic landmark, which is a real tourist magnet, is shrouded in the legend of the ghost staircase. At midnight sharp, the restless souls of the former residents of the Hofburg are said to rise from their graves and haunt the former treasure chamber staircase. One person who regularly encounters these ghosts is the Austrian writer Lotte Ingrisch, who is over 90 years old. She lives with her flock of cats in one of the 47 apartments in the Vienna Hofburg. There are actually 47 apartments there, which are rented out by the state to private individuals. The writer was the wife of the late Austrian composer Gottfried von Einem, who had always wanted to move into an apartment in the former imperial residence. He would even give up drinking alcohol to achieve this. In order to obtain one of these coveted apartments, the writer wrote to the then Minister of Science, Busek. He was to use his influence to ensure that they would be given an apartment in the Hofburg. In return, she would donate parts of her and his correspondence to the Austrian National Library. In fact, the artist couple was given an apartment measuring around 100 square meters in what was then the Schatzkammerstiege (Treasury Staircase). As a sign of her gratitude, the writer invited the minister and his wife to the apartment, where they were greeted by her husband in a joyful mood after drinking wine. In 2000, the Schatzkammerstiege was even renamed the Gottfried-von-Einem-Stiege after her husband. This is also where the ghosts and spirits of politicians, soldiers, servants, and former residents of the Hofburg, such as Sisi and Franzl, meet for a nightly rendezvous to have a chat.