Click to enlarge.
THE house in the upper part of the old centre of Modra is among the most historical buildings in this ancient wine-making town. It is interesting to see how it has changed over the years. At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, it was a mill, with two wheels, but then the prominent Schediuses family bought it in 1780 and extended it into a bigger building with 25 rooms. The mill changed hands over time. In 1912, Count Artur Polzer, the chancellor of Charles I of Habsburg, bought it and transformed it into an residence with a beautifully arranged garden and romantic decorations. He then sold it in 1922 to Czechoslovakia for 485,000 crowns. Afterwards, a well-known school of wine making and fruit growing was set up there until 1954.
This postcard from 1944 shows the building completely covered with creeping ivy.
By Branislav Chovana
