Geyerhof

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Many small historical testimonies from various eras are what make Geyerhof so fascinating. Some of the recordings in the Göttweig Abbey archives date back as far as the year 1135. Already in the 17th century family history was being written, with mentions of the baroque Schiffsmeisterhaus (ship master’s house) in the centre of the family estate.

MARIA & JOSEF

The estate, already on its 13th generation of owners, is run by Maria and Josef Maier. Studies and practical experience in New Zealand, Germany & Alaska have left their mark. As is the case in many places in the world, both of them have rediscovered the New in the Old. By keeping cattle, pigs and bees they are helping to revive not only viticulture but also the good old concept of a farm. The stated objective is to focus on the most important aspects, to slow down, and practise respectful, sustainable farming in times where economic growth and intensification are king.

ORGANIC PIONEERING

Already towards the end of the 1980s, parents Ilse and Josef Maier were among the first in Austria to convert their vineyards to organic. They also undertook pioneering tasks on the estate itself, which today counts among the most picturesque wine estates in the country. From the very beginning the couple, especially Ilse Maier, have been members of “La Renaissance des Appellations” – a select group founded by the famous French organic farmer Nicolas Joly, encompassing the world’s best organic wine estates.

THE TIME OF STRONG WOMEN

Strong women enjoy a long tradition at Geyerhof. Ilse Maier’s grandmother and great-grandmother took over the estate from their parents. The estate was then not only turned into a classic mixed farm with vineyards, crops, dairy cows and pigs, but also received an inn. Around the year 1900, Geyerhof was mainly destined for mining and a brickyard. First on the surface, and later underground, Oberfucha experienced three centuries of clay and loam mining in and around the village.

THE SOUND of HISTORY

Towards the end of the 19th century, ancestors Anton and Anna Springer founded the eponymous “Anton Springer Clay Works and Steam Brickyard”. From 1921, the business was managed for a few years by Georg Ritter von Trapp, the father of the famous Von Trapp family whose story was immortalised in world history centuries later in the American Broadway musical “The Sound of Music”.

THE OBERFUCHA SHIP MASTER

For three centuries – as long as our family’s history – the estate has been linked to ship master law. The bricks from the brick factory, the wine, the milk as well as other agricultural products were allowed to be shipped on the Danube. How the ship master’s house came to the Oberfucha Mountain off the Danube is however a bit of a mystery.

FAMILY TIES

and the story of the name
From Geyer to Maier. As the estate was passed down from heiress to heiress, so the name changed each time. Only the estate name and the Geyer family crest remain – today it features on the wine bottles and reminds us of the family’s long ship master’s history with a picture of a sailboat.