Originally built as the residence of the secular stewards of the Cistercian Abbey of Rein, the villa’s floor plan has remained remarkably intact over the centuries, offering a rare glimpse into the spatial organisation of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. Around 1900, two Viennese families converted the property into a summer retreat, while caretakers began occupying the two western ground-floor rooms.

The renovation focused on upgrading the heating, electrical, and sanitary systems, while carefully restoring the original vaulted and timber beam ceilings, historic plaster finishes, stucco details, doors, and locks. Poorly executed and dilapidated 20th-century alterations—such as window insertions, balconies, partition walls, and sanitary units—were removed in favour of reinstating the villa’s historic character.
Replacing a separate stair entrance, a new timber-frame annex was added to the west side, housing a guest apartment with bedroom and bathroom. Beneath this portion of the house, the vaulted cellar rises approximately one metre above the level of the other floors. The annex connects at this height, while externally bridging the difference in elevation caused by the site’s slope. Clad in grey larch, the addition stands in deliberate contrast to the villa’s lime-washed stone and brick masonry, whose infills, relieving arches, and construction joints now also reveal aspects of the building’s technical history. The triangular pergola-like terrace adapts to the position of the shade-giving plum trees, creating a sheltered space for living and gathering at the threshold between house and garden.