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54-700: Schwarzenbergplatz then continues briefly until it becomes Rennweg Straße as it passes by the large enclosed parks of Belvedere -Garten and the Palais Schwarzenberg , and the Schwarzenberggarten to the west. A large equestrian statue of Austrian field marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg , who fought with distinction in the Napoleonic Wars , is on display. 48°11′55″N 16°22′34″E  /  48.19861°N 16.37611°E  / 48.19861; 16.37611 Until

108-822: A Moderne Galerie . During the 1921–23 reorganization, the Baroque Museum in the Lower Belvedere was added to the existing museum ensemble. The Moderne Galerie was opened in the Orangery in 1929. The palaces suffered considerable damage during World War II , with parts of the Marble Hall in the Upper Belvedere and the Hall of Grotesques in the Lower Belvedere destroyed by bombs. Postwar restoration extended from 1945 to 1953, during which time, in 1950,

162-572: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Belvedere (palace) The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna , Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district of the city, on the south-eastern edge of its centre. It currently houses

216-432: A federal plan to modernize the nation's museums, a program that returned the gardens to their original Baroque character and significantly renovated the sala terrena and grand staircase. The Lower Belvedere and the Orangery have been specially adapted to stage special exhibitions. After winning an invitation-only competition, architect Susanne Zottl turned the Orangery into a modern exhibition hall whilst still preserving

270-527: A landscaped garden and summer palace. However, a month before the prince made his acquisition, the imperial Grand Marshal Count Heinrich Franz von Mansfeld , Prince of Fondi, purchased the neighboring plot and commissioned Hildebrandt to build a garden palace on the land. To buy the plot, Prince Eugene was forced to take out a large loan secured against his Stadtpalais, which was still in the process of being built. He bought additional neighboring areas of land in 1708, 1716, and again in 1717–18 to allow him to expand

324-554: A major fire beginning in the Golden Chamber on the upper floor of Upper Belvedere destroyed several important rooms and works displayed there. On 4 February 1953, the Österreichische Galerie reopened, followed by the Baroque Museum. The Museum mittelalterlicher österreichischer Kunst ("Museum of Medieval Austrian Art") opened in the Orangery on 5 December 1953. In 1996, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) released

378-513: A picture gallery at the end of the eighteenth century, the Lower Belvedere served chiefly to royal family members fleeing from the French Revolution . Most notably these included Princess Marie Thérèse Charlotte , the sole surviving child of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI , and Archduke Ferdinand. Marie Thérèse Charlotte resided in the palace until her marriage with Prince Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême , in 1799. Archduke Ferdinand,

432-530: A report citing inadequate postwar restorations that had left the sala terrena and grand staircase without "much of their original character." That same year, it added the Belvedere Garden to the WMF Watch List to highlight "the state of disrepair of the much-loved Viennese landmark." Multiple restoration plans emerged during the late 1990s to address these physical and aesthetic issues under

486-653: A sizable plot of land south of the Rennweg, the main road to Hungary. Plans for the Belvedere garden complex were drawn up immediately. The prince chose Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as the chief architect for this project rather than Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach , the creator of his Stadtpalais. Hildebrandt (1668–1745), whom the general had met whilst engaged in a military campaign in Piedmont , had already built Ráckeve Palace for him in 1702 on Csepel , an island in

540-405: A twelve-bay flat Baroque façade with three portals , each given double corbels that support a balcony and decorated balustrade . In place of standard columns or pillars, Fischer von Erlach designed bas-reliefs depicting military scenes from ancient mythology—Hercules fighting the giant Antaeus on the left, and Aeneas saving his father Anchises from burning Troy on the right. These images from

594-620: Is currently being restored. The painting View of Vienna from the Belvedere by Bernardo Bellotto depicts a famous perspective of the city center of Vienna called the Canaletto Blick . This view as seen from the Upper Belvedere Palace with the Gardens in the foreground still plays a significant role in urban planning discussions when it comes to altering the skyline of the historic city center. The construction of

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648-480: The Belvedere . The Winter Palace was designed and constructed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach from 1695 to 1700, and by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt from 1702 to 1724 following his predecessor's plans. The palace was acquired through auction by Empress Maria Theresa for the imperial court in 1738, along with most of the prince's other buildings. In 1752, the palace was converted by Nicolò Pacassi into

702-746: The Schloss Hof Palace, which was also commissioned by Prince Eugene, the Schwarzenberg Palace (formerly known as the Mansfeld–Fondi Palace), the Kinsky Palace , as well as the entire Göttweig Monastery estate in the Wachau Valley. At the time that the prince was planning to buy the land on the outskirts of Vienna for his Belvedere project, the area was completely undeveloped – an ideal place to construct

756-797: The Antiquities Room were added to the Ambras Collection in the Lower Belvedere collection from 1833 onwards. In 1844, the Roman milestones, which had been stored in the catacombs of the Theseus Temple up to that point, were relocated to an open-air location in the Privy Garden. Watercolors by Carl Goebel the Younger pay testimony to the Lower Belvedere's beginnings as a museum, as does Joseph Bergmann 's descriptive guide to

810-584: The Belvedere museum known in German as the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (in English, referred to both as the Belvedere Museum and Austrian Gallery). The grounds are set on a gentle gradient and include decorative tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures, and majestic wrought iron gates. The Baroque palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy . The Belvedere

864-585: The Danube south of Budapest . He later went on to build numerous other edifices in his service. The architect had studied civil engineering in Rome under Carlo Fontana and had gone into imperial service in 1695–96 in order to learn how to build fortifications. From 1696 onwards, records show that he was employed as a court architect in Vienna. As well as the Belvedere, Hildebrandt's most outstanding achievements include

918-590: The Italian painter Francesco Solimena to execute both the altarpiece for the Palace Chapel and the ceiling fresco in the Golden Room. In the same year Gaetano Fanti was commissioned to execute the illusionistic quadratura painting in the Marble Hall. In 1720 Carlo Carlone was entrusted with the task of painting the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall, which he executed from 1721 to 1723. The building

972-664: The Lower Belvedere, which was, in fact, far too small for the collection. This part of the Belvedere thus also took on the function of a museum and had already started to draw considerable numbers of visitors by the time of the Congress of Vienna (1814–15). Under the directorship of the Prefect of the Imperial Court Library, Moritz, Count of Dietrichstein-Proskau-Leslie, the Collection of Egyptian Antiquities and

1026-561: The Ministry of Education, asking for the palaces to be left to the Staatsgalerie. This application was granted the very next year. The nationalization of the Belvedere palace complex was also laid down in the draft document to reorganize the former imperial collections drawn up by Hans Tietze in 1920–21. In addition to the museums that still exist today, it also included plans to set up an Österreichische Galerie (Austrian Gallery) and

1080-782: The Schwarzenberg Monument to commemorate the victorious commander of the 1813 Battle of Leipzig , Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg . The equestrian statue was created by Ernst Hähnel and completed in October, 1867. Franz Joseph I witnessed the commemoration ceremony of the First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline , on 23 October 1873 in front of the Palais Schwarzenberg (in an area that was not yet considered part of Schwarzenberg Platz). In August 1945, immediately after

1134-575: The Stadtpalais, in April 1716. Extensive work was carried out on the grounds at the same time as construction went ahead on the Lustschloss , as the Lower Belvedere was described on an early cityscape. Dominique Girard changed the plans for the garden significantly between January and May 1717, so that it could be completed by the following summer. Girard, who was employed as fontainier du roi, or

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1188-465: The Upper Belvedere began as early as 1717, as testified by two letters that Prince Eugene sent from Belgrade to his servant Benedetti in summer 1718, describing the progress of work on the palace. Construction was so far advanced by 2 October 1719 that the prince was able to receive the Turkish ambassador Ibrahim Pasha there. The decoration of the interior started as early as 1718. In 1719 he commissioned

1242-580: The building's original Baroque fabric. This venue opened in March 2007 with the exhibition Gartenlust: Der Garten in der Kunst ( Garden Pleasures: The Garden in Art ). A few months later the Lower Belvedere reopened with the show Vienna – Paris. The redesign of the building was carried out by the Berlin architect Wilfried Kuehn, who moved the entrance back to its place in the cour d'honneur, thereby once more freeing up

1296-423: The chapel and a gallery were added. The central focal point of the blue saloon with its frescoes by Marcantonio Chiarini dates from this time. In 1719, the palace was widened through the acquisition of the western area. The stonework was provided by Elias Hill. Lorenzo Mattielli crafted the entrance reliefs and courtyard fountains. Upon the death of Prince Eugene in 1736, his niece Anna Viktoria of Savoy inherited

1350-530: The collection that dates from 1846. This situation remained almost unchanged until the move to the newly built Kunsthistorisches Museum in the Ringstrasse in 1888–89. Following the relocation of the imperial collections, both of the Belvedere Palaces ceased to be public museums for a while at least. In 1896, Emperor Franz Joseph I decided that the Upper Belvedere should serve as a residence for

1404-727: The end of World War II, the Red Army revealed the War Memorial (now popularly called the Russian Monument) behind the Hochstrahlbrunnen fountain. Until 1955, a Soviet T-34 tank was placed there. During the occupation, the southern part of square was renamed Stalin Square on 12 April 1946, and this name was officially effective until 18 July 1956. The "Haus der Industrie" (House of Industry), then No. 4 Stalin Square,

1458-491: The extensive preparations for the ball to which 16,000 guests were invited. In 1776, Maria Theresa and her son, Emperor Joseph II decided to transfer the k.u.k. Gemäldegalerie ("Imperial Picture Gallery") from the Imperial Stables – a part of the city's Hofburg Imperial Palace – to the Upper Belvedere. Inspired by the idea of enlightened absolutism , the intention was to make the imperial collection accessible to

1512-754: The former Governor of the Duchy of Milan up to 1796, went to live there after the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. After the Habsburg Monarchy was forced to cede Tyrol to Bavaria in the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805, a new home had to be found for the imperial collection from Ambras Castle, near Innsbruck . At first, the collection was taken to Petrovaradin (now in Novi Sad , Vojvodina , Serbia ) to protect it from looting by French troops. In 1811 Emperor Francis II decreed that it should be installed in

1566-465: The garden in stages. Records indicate that the construction of the Lower Belvedere had started by 1712, as Prince Eugene submitted the request for a building inspection on 5 July 1713. Work proceeded swiftly, and Marcantonio Chiarini from Bologna started painting the quadratura in the central hall in 1715. The ambassador from the Spanish Flanders visited the Lower Belvedere, as well as

1620-417: The gardens of Versailles as a pupil of André Le Nôtre . Extensive mythological references throughout the gardens allude to the rise of Prince Eugene with a sculptural program linking him to the god Apollo. A great water basin in the upper parterre and the stairs and cascades peopled by nymphs and goddesses that links upper and lower parterres survive, but the patterned bedding has long been grassed over; it

1674-400: The general public. The gallery opened five years later, making it one of the first public museums in the world. A series of eminent painters served as directors in charge of the imperial collection in the Upper Belvedere up to 1891 when it was transferred to the newly built Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) on Vienna's Ringstrasse. While the Upper Belvedere was transformed into

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1728-503: The giant Antaeus on the left, and Aeneas saving his father from burning Troy on the right—was sculpted from Kaiserstein by Lorenzo Mattielli . During this first phase of construction, the remarkable staircase with Kaiserstein steps and the Atlas figures were completed. The sculptures from Zogelsdorfer stone in the stairway were executed by Giovanni Giuliani. Material deliveries were made by master Reichardt from Moenchhof Fux. In 1702,

1782-547: The heir to the throne, his nephew Franz Ferdinand . The heir presumptive had the palace remodeled under the supervision of the architect Emil von Förster , who was also imperial undersecretary, and it served from that point onwards as Franz Ferdinand's residence. By contrast, the Moderne Galerie was opened a few years later, on 2 May 1903, in the Lower Belvedere. This museum was the first state collection in Austria that

1836-652: The imperial family. The palace was only once awakened from its slumbers in 1770 when a masked ball was staged there on 17 April to mark the occasion of the Imperial Princess Maria Antonia's marriage with the French Dauphin, who was later to become Louis XVI . The Lord High Chamberlain Prince Johann Joseph Khevenhüller-Metsch and the court architect Nicolaus Pacassi were charged with taking care of

1890-605: The king's water engineer, in Versailles from 1707 to 1715, had started working as a garden inspector for the Bavarian elector Maximilian Emanuel from 1715 onwards. It was on the latter's recommendation that he entered Prince Eugene's employ. The statuary for the balustrade is the best known work of Giovanni Stanetti . The Belvedere Gardens were designed in the formal French manner with clipped hedges, gravelled walks and jeux d'eau by Dominique Girard , who had trained in

1944-481: The mid-19th century, most of the area of today's Schwarzenberg square was occupied by Vienna's city walls. After the demolition of the city walls in the years from 1858 to 1863, these areas were now available for construction and, similar to the Ringstraßenpalais, magnificent buildings were constructed here in the second half of the 19th century. In 1861, Emperor Franz Joseph I ordered the construction of

1998-504: The original line of vision from the main gate of the Lower Belvedere via the Marble Hall to the garden facade of the Upper Belvedere. The various sections of the original orangeries annexed to the Marble Hall were returned to their original condition and now provide space for the new exhibition rooms. The magnificent Baroque state rooms – the Marble Gallery, the Golden Room, and the Hall of Grotesques – remain unchanged and are open to

2052-478: The prestigious and lucrative contract to build a palace at this location for the prince. In 1697, Fischer von Erlach began constructing the seven-bay palace, and by 1698, painters were already working on the ceiling frescoes. Fischer von Erlach's construction manager was Andrea Simone Carove. The stonemasonry was done by the Viennese master Johann Thomas Schilck. The large portal with side reliefs—Hercules fighting

2106-474: The prince's property. After her marriage to Joseph Friedrich von Sachsen-Hildburghausen on 17 April 1738—he was a military commander and administrator for the Habsburgs—she put all of Prince Eugene's properties up for auction. The palace was acquired by Empress Maria Theresa for the imperial court in 1738, along with most of the prince's other buildings. In 1752, the palace was converted by Nicolò Pacassi into

2160-477: The project was taken over by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt . During this phase of construction, some of the halls were completed, in particular the gold cabinet with oil paintings. Following the acquisition of the eastern properties, the facade was extended in 1708 by 12 meters. The stonework for this work was provided by the Kaisersteinbrucher master Giovanni Battista Passerini and Elias Hill. In 1710,

2214-542: The public. Winter Palace of Prince Eugene The Winter Palace of Prince Eugene ( German : Winterpalais Prinz Eugen ), also known as the City Palace ( German : Stadtpalais ), is a high- Baroque palace in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna , Austria. Located on a narrow street at Himmelpfortgasse 8, the palace was used as the winter residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy , who spent his summers at

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2268-530: The replacement of the largely still-existing slim light poles from 1904 by lighting fixtures that were perceived by critics as clumsy and clunky. Under the Schwarzenberg Square courses the Wien River and the underground line U4, and it was also once the location for the "Zwingburg", a shelter for homeless people who retreated into the Viennese sewers. This Vienna location article is

2322-646: The roof of the palace and another bomb exploded in the attic. The ceiling painting by the French painter Ludovico Dorigny was damaged, but was eventually restored by experts from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna . From 2007 to 2013, the palace underwent extensive renovations. On 18 October 2013, the main rooms of the Winter Palace state apartments became accessible to the public as the Belvedere's new exhibition venue in Vienna's Innere Stadt. The Winter Palace has

2376-718: The seat of various state institutions. The palace housed the Finance Ministry of the Austrian Empire from 1848 to 1918 and the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. Since 1919, the palace has housed the Ministry of Finance . During World War II, the Winter Palace did not escape undamaged. On Sunday 8 April 1945 at 2:00 pm, in the course of a bombing raid by the Soviet Red Army, a bomb shattered

2430-581: The seat of various state institutions. The palace housed the finance ministry of the Austrian Empire from 1848 to 1918 and the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. Since 1919, the palace has housed the Ministry of Finance . From 2007 to 2013, the palace was extensively renovated. The Winter Palace of Prince Eugene is considered "one of the most magnificent Baroque edifices in Vienna". In 1694 and 1695, Prince Eugene of Savoy purchased several old houses on Himmelpfortgasse in Vienna, including an early Baroque theater. In 1695, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach won

2484-521: The supreme hero of our age Eugene Francis Duke of Savoy and Piedmont"), which documented in precise detail the state of the Belvedere complex. The Upper Belvedere appears on the 20-cent Austrian euro coin . When Prince Eugene died in his City Palace in Vienna on 21 April 1736, he did not leave a legally binding will . A commission set up by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI named the prince's niece Victoria as his heir. She

2538-434: Was able to purchase the estate. The imperial couple never moved into the Gartenpalais, which was first described as the Belvedere in their sales contract of November 1752. The complex was somewhat eclipsed by the other imperial palaces, and at first the buildings were left unused. Maria Theresa later created an ancestors' gallery of the Habsburg dynasty in the Lower Belvedere, as was the custom in all other palaces belonging to

2592-433: Was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling Habsburg dynasty. This period of prosperity followed on from the commander-in-chief Prince Eugene of Savoy's successful conclusion of a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire . On 30 November 1697, one year after commencing with the construction of the Stadtpalais , Prince Eugene purchased

2646-603: Was completed in 1723. The Sala Terrena , however, was at risk of collapsing due to structural problems, and in the winter of 1732–33 Hildebrandt was forced to install a vaulted ceiling supported by four Atlas pillars, giving the room its current appearance. Salomon Kleiner, an engineer from the Mainz elector 's court, produced a ten-part publication between 1731 and 1740 containing a total of ninety plates, entitled Wunder würdiges Kriegs- und Siegs-Lager deß Unvergleichlichen Heldens Unserer Zeiten Eugenii Francisci Hertzogen zu Savoyen und Piemont ("Wondrous war and victory encampment of

2700-399: Was decided to expand the focus beyond modern art to include works from earlier eras. The assassination of heir-apparent Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the outbreak of World War I , and the ensuing collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918 marked the start of a new era for the Belvedere. Shortly after the end of the war in November 1918, the art historian Franz Haberditzl submitted a request to

2754-447: Was exclusively dedicated to modern art and came about upon the instigation of the Union of Austrian Artists, known as the Vienna Secession . The aim was to juxtapose Austrian art with international modernism . From the outset, major works by Vincent van Gogh , Claude Monet , and Giovanni Segantini were bought for the Moderne Galerie. The museum was then renamed the k.u.k. Staatsgalerie (" Imperial and Royal Gallery") in 1911 after it

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2808-417: Was several years her junior, in the presence of the royal family in the Schlosshof in the Marchfeld region, Lower Austria . Her choice of husband proved an unfortunate one, however, and the poorly-matched couple divorced in 1744. Yet it was only when Princess Victoria finally decided to leave Vienna and return to her home city of Turin , Italy, eight years later that Maria Theresa , the daughter of Charles VI,

2862-431: Was the daughter of his eldest brother Thomas and the only surviving member of the house of Savoy-Soissons. Princess Victoria moved into the Belvedere, known at that point as the Gartenpalais, on 6 July 1736, but immediately made clear that she was not interested in her inheritance and aimed to auction off the palace complex as soon as possible. On 15 April 1738, she married Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1702–87), who

2916-431: Was the seat of the Allied Council of the four occupying powers until 1955. In 2003 and 2004, the Schwarzenberg Square was re-designed by Spanish architect Alfredo Arribas and equipped with sunken lighting elements representing different lighting effects. In the course of restructuring, the few green spaces that had existed until then were removed, a matter of much public criticism. There was particularly strong opposition to

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