Station II: At the Heisselgarten
Fatherly love or: Egon and the mysterious visitor
Here you can find out: When Egon met death. Why he talked to an invisible guest. How valuable railroad shares ended up in the fire. And why the Schiele family had to leave Tulln station.
Start of themed circular route: Tulln main station
Distance: 3.6 km
Duration: approx. 90 min.
Difficulty: easy - barrier-free
Schiele Folder EN
Schiele Folder EN
At the end of the 19th century, the death of children was part of everyday family life. But Adolf and Marie Schiele were hit particularly hard. Their first two pregnancies ended in stillbirths. Then their third daughter, Elvira, died of meningitis at the age of ten. Egon was just three years old at the time. And suddenly the only child in the large official apartment that the station manager lives in with his family. He feels his parents' grief. For the first time, he experiences the oppressive feeling of abandonment. A feeling that will stay with him for the rest of his short life.
[Translate to English:]
Destroyed by fire.
The first stroke of fate was soon followed by a second. His beloved father was diagnosed with syphilis. The disease was insidious initially. Adolf Schiele, always a man much respected by employees for his strict discipline, suddenly began neglecting his duties. He mislaid important documents, mixed up figures and dates. Sometimes he even had hallucinations, too. When that happened, Egon and his mother had to converse with an imaginary friend at the dinner table. When the symptoms intensified, a tragedy occurred. In a state of delirium, the sick man burned up his shares of railroad stock. The family fortune went up in flames and so too did the Schiele family’s social standing in Tulln.
![[Translate to English:] Stadtgemeinde Tulln/Donau: Egon Schiele Weg: Vater Adolf Schiele, Stationsvorstand](/fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_2_Heisslgarten_img296_628px_komp.jpg_bc235a24c3.jpg "[Translate to English:] Stadtgemeinde Tulln/Donau: Egon Schiele Weg: Vater Adolf Schiele, Stationsvorstand")
[Translate to English:] Adolf Schiele, station master and Egon's father
The beginning of the end.
In September 1904, Adolf Schiele is dismissed from his position on the board of the Franz Josef Railway by the "Qualifications Commission". The family had to vacate the apartment in Tulln station and moved to Klosterneuburg. It is obvious that Egon makes observations of his sick father during this time, which are later reflected in many of his paintings. However, the doctors could do nothing more for his sick father. A suicide attempt in Český Krumlov, his wife's hometown, was unsuccessful. A few months later, on New Year's Eve 1904, Adolf Schiele died. Egon was just 14 years old at the time and was already facing death for the second time.
