Former home of "The English Patient"

Chance would have it that, in the mid-19th century, the Almásy Family, residents of Hungary in search of a new home, came across an ad touting 1000 m³ of wood from an attic. It turns out that the family who live in Bernstein back then was no longer able to maintain the castle and, due to a lack of money, had wanted to demolish the attic. It was this that prompted the Almásys to move to Bernstein.

The first Almásy at Burg Bernstein was Eduard Almásy in 1892. His grandson Janós was a cavalry officer during World War I, while younger brother László served as a fighter pilot. Lászlós’s story became world-famous through the Oscar-winning movie “The English Patient”.

After the war, Austria was forced to destroy all military aircraft. But before that happened, the Austrian army donated one Aviatik Berg to the Technical Museum, coincidently the very aircraft that László had flown; his name is carved into the cockpit.

Ladislaus’s aircraft still stands in the Vienna Technical Museum, while the attic at Bernstein continues to exist as well.