Christalniggasse 7

In 1930 the banker and native Bulgarian Albert Benbassat bought a villa in Baden built in 1899 by the founder of the Hirtenberger Patronenfabrik (Cartridge Factory), Anton Keller. In 1932 Albert Benbassat married Adele Goldmann née Feuerstein, whose family belonged to the founders of the oil industry in Galicia – which yielded fabulous wealth; however, its significance is scarcely known today. But neither could this money save Benbassat’s bank house; only four years later it was caught up in the economic maelstrom of the time, and Albert Benbassat had to auction off the furnishings in his villa. The auction catalogue gives an inside view of a luxuriously furnished villa with exceptional accoutrements and artworks.