Austrian cultural figures have launched a campaign to buy the villa where writer Stefan Zweig lived until 1934, The Guardian reports.

The initiative emerged after the house’s current owner, automotive magnate Wolfgang Porsche, unexpectedly put the property up for sale amid a scandal over plans to build a private tunnel for his car collection.

Zweig, an Austrian writer of Jewish origin whose works inspired director Wes Anderson to create the film The Grand Budapest Hotel, lived in this 17th-century villa until he was forced to leave Salzburg because of persecution by the Austro-fascist regime. His family had to sell the house at a significantly reduced price.

During the writer’s lifetime, the villa, known as Villa Europa, was not only the place where he created many of his works, but also an important cultural center. Such outstanding cultural figures as James Joyce, Thomas Mann, and Richard Strauss were among its visitors.

Wolfgang Porsche bought the villa in 2020 for 8.4 million euros. After carrying out restoration work, he put it up for sale for 12.7 million euros. Earlier, his plans to build a private 500-meter tunnel through Kapuzinerberg hill to transport his car collection to the house caused a wide public outcry.

The petition calling on federal and local authorities to buy the villa has already been signed by several thousand people, including well-known singers, composers, and writers. The authors of the appeal call the acquisition of the house “a cultural responsibility to future generations” and “an opportunity to make this unique place open to the public and preserve its significance for Austrian and European cultural history.”

Bernhard Fügenschuh, rector of the University of Salzburg, said that Austria bears a moral responsibility to preserve the villa as a memorial site dedicated to Stefan Zweig. According to him, the university is ready to temporarily become the owner of the building until funds are found for its final purchase.

“There is a serious public responsibility here. We decided to take it on because we understand that the window of opportunity may be very short,” Fügenschuh said.

He noted that Porsche’s decision to sell the villa gave Salzburg a rare chance to acquire the property, since previous attempts by the city to do so had been unsuccessful. The university is now holding consultations with Austria’s Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research, which must approve the relevant project.

The permit to build the tunnel through Kapuzinerberg hill is included in the property’s price, but the new owner will only be able to use it until the end of 2028.

Stefan Zweig himself called his home “romantic and impractical.” He considered one of its main advantages to be that the villa was “inaccessible to cars” and could only be reached by climbing more than a hundred steps leading up Kapuzinerberg hill.