The refugee camp is based in the centre of Traiskirchen on the area of the former Imperial Artillery Cadet School[5] which was built in 1900.

Many prominent refugees were initially received here, including the later Vienna State Opera Director Ioan Holender and the journalist [6] Paul Lendvai.

In May 1990 it was announced by the Mayor of Traiskirchen that, in line with the promise by the Minister of the Interior, the institute would be closed permanently.

In 1993 the refugee camp was renamed the Asylum Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior ("Bundesbetreuungsstelle für Asylwerber").

In 2015, as a result of the European migrant crisis, the Asylum Office had to admit an increasing number of illegal immigrants.

According to the Amnesty report the conditions at the refugee camp were inhumane and unworthy of any human being: lack of staff and translators, lack of organization, food supply problems (two hours wait), terrible sanitary conditions, no separate sections for women and men, and a point system for punishment for fighting but also for complaints, resulting in spending several nights outside the facility.

Refugees' poor living conditions have been criticized, and the inmates have been associated with drug dealing, theft and violent crime.

In 2003, the Interior Minister, Ernst Strasser, outsourced the camp to the German company European Home Care.

The "Bildungszentrum der Sicherheitsexekutive (BZS)" Traiskirchen is an education institution for the Austrian police.

It is unlike many observatories due to its location in the middle of the city and its low elevation, making it susceptible to the winter fog that plagues the region.