The Stadl-Paura Horse Center
A history of over 220 years
40,000 people line the streets of Vienna's city center. The funeral procession moves from Stephansplatz through Graben and Kohlmarkt to Michaelerplatz, from there through the Stallburg to the Albertina, before heading to Neuer Markt with the Capuchin Church. The rainy weather and the early onset of dusk give the ceremony a somber appearance. Six black horses, provided by the Stadl-Paura Federal Stud, pull the imperial hearse during the burial of Zita of Bourbon-Parma on April 1, 1989. On this occasion, the coachman is Johann Steininger, the Chief Official of the Federal Stud.
The Stadl-Paura Horse Center can look back on a history of over 220 years. The oldest buildings in the former imperial and royal stallion depot date back to 1807. The horses, mostly Norikers, pull the salt barges from Linz back upstream to Gmunden in the so-called "Gegenzug." To accommodate these horses, stables are built, along with an administration, Mayr, and blacksmith house for the imperial and royal Traunzug control. The official founding date of the imperial-royal stallion depot is considered September 17, 1826, with full operations commencing in 1827.
Until World War I, Stadl-Paura focuses on breeding Norikers, Haflingers, Warmbloods, and Thoroughbreds, a trend that hardly changes after the collapse of the monarchy in 1918. The "Bundeshengstenstallamt" is placed under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. With Austria's annexation to the German Reich in 1938, it is directly subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Agriculture in Berlin as the 'Landgestüt.' In 1939, there are approximately 560 breeding stallions, and stud services are carried out by 135 employees until the end of the war. After 1945, a massive contraction process in horse breeding results in significant cuts in stallions and thus also in personnel at Stadl-Paura. The "new forge," built in 1950, represents the last modification to the facility until 1999.
In the 1960s, the trend towards sport and leisure horses emerges. However, the uniform breeding of a suitable riding horse is not possible, as the old bloodlines of the once-famous half-blood horses of the Danube Monarchy, if they still exist, have been scattered. Thus, the Horse Center takes on the task of documenting and reintroducing old Austrian bloodlines, such as Furioso or Nonius, into breeding.
Since privatization in 1999, Austria's largest Horse Center is managed by the "Pferdezentrum Stadl-Paura GmbH" and houses an average of 100 teaching and training horses. Students from the Agricultural Education Center (ABZ) and HAK Lambach receive practical training here, young horses are trained and specialized, and the "Training Center Human and Horse" is operated. With four riding halls and extensive grounds, the Horse Center offers a unique location that leaves nothing to be desired.
