History of the house meadow
On the right bank of the Schwechat, on the "Kleine Wegerl im Helenental", below the Scharfeneck ruins, is the Hauswiese or formerly known as the "Helenenwiese".
Allegedly, the house meadow was once the castle meadow of Scharfeneck's tournament grounds.
The residents dubbed the castle the house and the lord of the castle lovingly or ironically as the house owner. Perhaps this is how the term “house meadow” came about.
Already in the Biedermeier period there was a bandstand where Lanner and Strauss played. In the summer months, spa concerts were held twice a week, which were later reduced to only once a week. Even in the interwar period, this custom was still practiced from time to time.
In the middle of the 19th century, however, it "flourished" enormously on the meadow:
There were spa concerts, imperial festivals and even famous dog races, in which there were even crown princes, archdukes and more than 2,000 spectators.
At that time the meadow was still surrounded by significantly fewer trees and you could borrow an armchair for the spa concerts from the armchair rental company, for a not very cheap salary.
It wasn't until 1895 that a coffee house was built, which established itself as a popular meeting place for spa guests. It later became a snack station and is now a café-restaurant and forest inn.
The Waldgasthaus Servus Hauswiese can be reached via the cast-iron Albrechtsbrücke, which has existed since 1879, and then in about a to two-minute walk along the Schwechat on a wide forest path.