The Hofburg in Vienna was the residence of the Habsburgs in Vienna from the 13th century until 1918 (with interruptions). It has been the official residence of the Austrian Federal President since the end of 1946 . It houses most of the Austrian National Library as well as various museums (including the Albertina ) and the Federal Monuments Office .
The area, which has grown over the course of around seven centuries, covers an area of around 24 hectares, making it the largest building complex in Europe built for non-religious purposes . The complex also includes two sacred buildings : the Hofburg Chapel and the Augustinian Church . If you add to the Hofburg area that of the museums ( KHM and NHM ), including the old court stables – today’s MuseumsQuartier – ( Kaiserforum ), the total area is around 50 hectares.
Around 5,000 people live or work on the Hofburg area, which, together with Heldenplatz , is visited by around 20 million people every year. The Hofburg is the property of the Republic of Austria and is administered by the castle authorities .
Building history
First mentioned in documents under the Habsburg King Rudolf I in 1279, construction began in the first half of the 13th century under the Babenbergs . Duke Leopold VI is said to have laid the foundation stone. († 1230). However , until the New Castle was completed around 1275, the “Babenberg Palatinate” ( Am Hof ) remained the residence of the Austrian dukes . This was built by Heinrich Jasomirgott in 1155/56. The New Castle was completed under the Bohemian King Ottokar II Přemysl (from 1251 also Duke of Austria, † 1278). The complex – at that time anything but a representative residence – was part of Vienna’s city fortifications with its defensive towers and moat . As a result, it became one of several, but the most important, castles of the sovereigns in the Duchy of Austria under the Enns , alongside the castle at Leopoldsberg , Mödling Castle and the frequently used castle in Wiener Neustadt .
The Roman King and later Emperor Ferdinand I moved his main residence to Vienna in the middle of the 16th century after he had agreed with his brother Emperor Charles V to take over the government in the Habsburg hereditary lands in the Partition Treaty of Worms in 1521 and the Treaty of Brussels in 1522 . He had the Gothic castle complex rebuilt and expanded in the Renaissance style, and the New Castle became the Hofburg . The Innsbruck Hofburg remained the second residence , from which Tyrol , Upper Austria and Upper Austria were administered, while Inner Austria was administered from the Graz Castle .
In the following centuries, the existing wings were expanded and numerous new ones were added, a tradition that continues to this day. A tour of the Hofburg is also a tour of art history : wings from a wide variety of eras, from the Gothic of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance , the Baroque from the 17th and 18th centuries, but also historicist wings from the 19th century contemporary interior designs from the 20th and 21st centuries come together.
Swiss wing
The oldest, late Romanesque , then Gothic castle in the shape of a square corresponds roughly to today’s Schweizerhof . It was rebuilt in the Renaissance style during the time of Emperor Charles V by his brother, the Roman-German King Ferdinand I. Illustrations from this period show a square-shaped complex with four massive corner towers, a side gate tower and the late Romanesque Hofburg chapel (rebuilt in the Gothic style in the middle of the 15th century) , whose choir protruded from the square and which has been preserved to this day. This farm later took its name from the Swiss Guard . In the wings of the Schweizerhof are also the ecclesiastical and secular treasury (both administratively belonging to the Art History Museum ), the latter containing, among other things, the insignia of the Holy Roman Empire ( Imperial regalia ) and the Austrian Empire . The court music band is also based there.
Swiss Gate
Particularly well known is the red and black Swiss Gate , which lists the titles of Emperor Ferdinand I and depicts the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece . This gate including painting was built by Pietro Ferrabosco in 1552. In a niche on the side of the gate is the Schweizerhof fountain from 1552 with the imperial eagle. The basin is made of hard, white Kaiserstein from Kaisersteinbruch . The fountain formed the end of a water pipe that was built in 1534 and was led from the suburb of Ortisei to the castle.
Court kitchen
For a long time, the court kitchen was housed below this wing. Overall, this part of the Hofburg including the Hofburg Chapel is called the Swiss Wing . The name comes from the troop made up of Swiss mercenaries who provided gate guards at the time of the imperial couple Franz I Stephen (of Lorraine) and Maria Theresa .
Ancestral Hall
The Federal Monuments Office , which has its headquarters here, can be reached via the pillared staircase in the Swiss wing . Here is the ancestral hall with the Habsburg imperial portraits, furnished around 1874 for Crown Prince Rudolf :
Rudolf I (1218–1291)
Maximilian I (1459–1519)
Charles V (1500–1558)
Ferdinand I (1503–1564)
Maximilian II (1527–1576)
Ferdinand II (1578–1637)
Leopold I (1640–1705)
Charles VI (1685–1740)
Maria Theresa (1717–1780)
Joseph II (1741–1790)
Francis II or I (1768–1835)
Franz Joseph I (1830–1916)
Antechamber
The antechamber leads to the Marble Hall in the Ceremonial Hall wing, which dates back to the 19th century. The particularly thick walls come from one of the defensive towers of the old castle fortifications. The term antechamber refers to its former purpose as an anteroom.
In March 2013, near the Schweizertor towards Michaelerplatz, remains of the 6 by 20 meter foundation of Emperor Ferdinand I’s Kunstkammer , built between 1558 and 1563 , were discovered, the first museum building north of the Alps. The discovery by the art historian Renate Holzschuh-Hofer was made by evaluating sources that had been known for a long time but had only been misinterpreted.
Hofburg Chapel
The Hofburg Chapel is the oldest and main chapel of the Hofburg and was the house chapel of the Habsburgs . Probably around 1287/88, Albrecht I had a late Romanesque chapel built, which was first mentioned in a document in 1296. From 1423 to 1426 an expansion took place under Albrecht V ; the wood of the current roof structure dates from 1421. Albrecht, who commissioned a large-scale persecution of Jews in Vienna that year , probably also arranged for Jewish gravestones to be embedded in the foundation of the chapel (they were later removed and placed in a Jewish cemetery stored).
From 1447 to 1449, Emperor Friedrich III. remodel and expand the chapel in the Gothic style. Maria Theresia had the chapel renovated in the late Baroque style. In the course of classicism it was re-Gothicized again in 1802. The court music band founded by Emperor Maximilian I performed in it , whose tradition is continued by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Boys’ Choir . Until the end of the monarchy in 1918, the Hofburg Chapel served as the parish church of the imperial and royal court and castle parish .
Place in the castle
Chancellery wing with the monument to Emperor Franz I and II. on the north side in the middle of the picture
The Swiss wing, the Amalienburg, the Leopoldin wing and the Reich Chancellery wing form a courtyard that was called Franzensplatz from 1846 to 1919 and has been called In der Burg since 1919 .
In the middle of the square there is a bronze statue of Emperor Franz II/I, erected at the behest of Emperor Ferdinand I and unveiled on June 16, 1846 . by the hand of the Italian sculptor Pompeo Marchesi , depicting the emperor on an octagonal pillar like a Roman Caesar. On the side faces of the pillar there are bronze reliefs depicting the activities of the people. The pillar is flanked by four colossal statues that symbolize faith, strength, peace and justice.
Amalienburg
Opposite the Schweizertor is the Amalienburg , also known as the Amalientract , named after Amalie Wilhelmine , the widow of Emperor Joseph I , which was built more than a hundred years earlier as the Viennese residence of Emperor Rudolf II in the late Renaissance style . In the courtyard of the wing, the Amalienhof , there is a Renaissance fountain whose basin is made of imperial stone. The turret with a French hood and the astronomical clock on the facade are noteworthy. In the center of the inner courtyard of the Vienna Hofburg, between the Amalienburg and the Schweizertor, there is a monument to Emperor Franz I of Austria by Pompeo Marchesi from 1842 to 1846, which can be seen in the left part of the photo.
Over time, in addition to Amalie Wilhelmine, various archduchesses and dukes resided in the Amalienburg, from 1790 to 1792 Leopold II , 1814/15 during the Congress of Vienna Tsar Alexander I , 1831-35 the future Emperor Ferdinand I with his wife Maria Anne of Savoy , 1854–98 Empress Elisabeth and 1916–18 Emperor Charles I.
The Amalienburg was built on the site of the Cillierhof (originally owned by the Counts of Cilli ) and a group of medieval houses. After the demolition, the new building began in 1575 for the later Emperor Rudolf II. The construction was completed in stages until 1611. As part of a renovation around 1683/84, the building was increased by a half-story and the facade facing Ballhausplatz was designed. In 1711 Franz Jänggl created the connecting wing to the Leopoldin wing and probably also the new clock tower. The preserved furnishings of the first floor (apartments for the later Emperor Joseph II ) and the mezzanine in the Rococo style come from Nikolaus Pacassi .
Today, the Chancellery Ministers and State Secretaries (as a branch of the Federal Chancellery ), the Schönbrunn Palace Cultural and Business Association and the Austrian Spatial Planning Conference (ÖROK) reside in the Amalien wing .
Leopoldinian tract
The connecting building between the Amalienburg and the Swiss wing is the Leopoldinian wing , which was built under Emperor Leopold I in the 1660s. The architect was Filiberto Lucchese and the execution was carried out by the Italian master builders Carl Martin Carlone and Domenico Carlone . The major order for stone deliveries and stone carving work went to Kaisersteinbruch , to the masters Ambrosius Ferrethi and Camillo Rezi. [11] Accounts are listed in the Camerale payment office books of the Hofkammerarchiv : hard imperial stone for the facade, the large cornice panels on the outer side , staircase, and finally the portal. The Viennese court stonemason Urban Illmayr was responsible for work on the “soft” stone . At the west end of the Leopoldin wing is the chamber chapel , which was completely renovated by Maria Theresia in 1772.
After the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna in 1683, the wing was rebuilt by Giovanni Pietro Tencalla and an additional floor was added. The building’s style is Baroque . In 1752 a balcony was added by the court stonemasons Elias Hügel and Johann Baptist Regondi . Below this Leopoldin wing and the Amalienburg was also the huge wine cellar of the Hofburg. Furthermore , the “Secret Council Chamber” was located in the area of the Leopoldin wing . Emperor Franz Joseph I gave his opening speeches to the Austro-Hungarian delegation meetings here. In the hall on June 28, 1900, the then heir to the throne and nephew of Franz Joseph, Franz Ferdinand , took the “renunciation oath” and renounced their succession to the throne in the name of his future (not equal) wife and his descendants.
From 1923 until its dissolution in 1939 , the influential German-national to National Socialist- oriented German Club , with Federal President Michael Hainisch (1920 to 1928) and at least fifteen government members from the interwar period as well as several July Putschists in the ranks, had its headquarters in eight representative rooms in the Leopoldin wing .
Since the end of 1946, the Leopoldin wing has housed the offices of the Austrian Federal President and the office of the Presidential Chancellery assigned to him, which were previously housed in a wing of the Federal Chancellery opposite on Ballhausplatz . The Hofburg police station is also housed in the wing.
Reich Chancellery wing
Reich Chancellor Lothar Franz von Schönborn commissioned Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt to plan the new building. After the foundation stone was laid on October 15, 1723 and construction began, construction continued in May 1726 on the instructions of Emperor Charles VI. handed over to Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach , who completed the Reich Chancellery wing opposite the Leopoldin wing in the years 1726–1730. The wing housed the offices of the Imperial Vice Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire (the position of Imperial Arch Chancellor , whose representative the Imperial Vice Chancellor was considered to be, had been held by the Archbishop of Mainz since the Middle Ages ), as well as the Reichshofrat . After the end of the Empire, this wing housed the apartments of the Duke of Reichstadt and most recently of Emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary .
Court library
Initially free-standing on the other side of the castle (at today’s Josefsplatz ) was the court library , which was used by Emperor Charles VI. was founded and which today contains the baroque state hall of the Austrian National Library . Its construction was started by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach ; In 1735 his son Joseph Emanuel completed the construction. The magnificent hall contains Prince Eugene ‘s book collection , a ceiling fresco by Daniel Gran and imperial statues by Paul Strudel . The central statue represents Charles VI. as Roman-German Emperor and is attributed to Antonio Corradini . This part is probably the most artistically important part of the Hofburg.
Fischer von Erlach had only planned access from the Swiss wing, i.e. no public access for a library that was actually designed as a public institution from the start. The ceremonial files from April 23, 1731 report on a … tour of the new library by Her Imperial Majesty and the Archduchess… . It was not until 1733 that a neighboring small building belonging to the Augustinian convent was purchased in order to build a generally accessible staircase, the so-called Great Service Staircase .
Subsidence that occurred in the years after 1760 forced some renovations, which were carried out by Nicholas of Pacassi . The current festive staircase to the state hall was then built around 1767, also here with smoothly polished imperial stone for steps and platforms. In 1769 the building was in danger of collapsing due to the enormous weight of the books. Empress Maria Theresia and her son Joseph II had it reinforced under the supervision of the court building director Count Losy von Losymthall and the court architect Nicolaus Pacassi. On this occasion, a new open square, Josefsplatz , was created, in the center of which is an equestrian statue of Emperor Joseph II by Franz Anton von Zauner .
In 1904, the Hofbaucomité commissioned the design of an entrance to the court library from Josefsplatz. The stone work was partly made from old existing Almaser , Wöllersdorfer , Kaiser, Marzano and Kelheimer stone , partly from newly provided Kaiser stone for steps and floor slabs, Cava Romana and Orsera.
Augustinian tract
Adjacent to the court library on the southeast side of Josefsplatz is the Augustinian wing , named after the adjacent Augustinian church and the Augustinian monastery, which were built before the court library but became part of it through the expansion of the Hofburg. Since the Palais Archduke Albrecht (formerly Palais Tarouca-de Sylva), which houses the Albertina graphic collection , is structurally connected to the Augustinian monastery and was inhabited by members of the imperial family, it is also counted as part of the Hofburg complex.
Redoutensaal wing
Adjacent to the north of the court library is the Redoutensaal wing , named after the Redoutensaalen located therein . These include the large and small Redoutensaal as well as the roof foyer, which opened in 1997.
Maria Theresia had an opera house from the 17th century converted and thus created the Redoutensäle, the dance and concert halls par excellence. The first structural concept came from Jean Nicolas Jadot de Ville-Issey , the external facade bears the signature of Nikolaus Pacassi and Franz Anton Hillebrandt .
The Redouten halls were repeatedly redesigned, for example by mirroring the windows, stucco and gold strips on the ceiling or introducing electricity. In 1973 the halls were converted into a conference center. On June 18, 1979, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT-II arms limitation treaty here .
On the night of November 26th to 27th, 1992, a major fire broke out in the Hofburg in the area of the Redoutensäle on Josefsplatz. Part of the roof and the upper floor burned down completely. The fire was difficult to extinguish and the Lipizzaners in the adjacent riding school had to be brought to safety. After the fire catastrophe, the small Redout Hall, which was slightly less damaged, was restored true to the original. An artist competition was announced for the furnishing of the Great Redout Hall. The Austrian painter Josef Mikl emerged as the winner. He made oil paintings based on quotes from the writers Ferdinand Raimund , Johann Nepomuk Nestroy , Elias Canetti and Karl Kraus . As part of the renovation of the burned-out Redouten halls, Manfred Wehdorn ‘s former attic was converted into a roof foyer.
The restoration of the Redouten halls took five years and took place under the aegis of the Austrian Castle Authority . Since 1997, the wing has been managed by the Vienna Congress Center Hofburg Betriebsgesellschaft . In 1998, the Redoutensäle were put back into operation on the occasion of the first Austrian EU Presidency. In 2006, Wehdorn created the “Hofburg Gallery” and the “Hofburg Forum” below it in the former inner courtyard of the Hofburg.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz speaks to the Federal Council in the Great Redout Hall
The Redoutensaal wing, the court library and the Augustinian wing form an architectural, harmonious ensemble in the structure of a horseshoe that forms Josefsplatz.
In December 2014, the six Austrian parliamentary parties agreed to use the Redoutensaal wing of the Hofburg as alternative accommodation for the plenary sessions during the renovation work on the parliament building from 2017 to 2021. The meetings of the National Council and the Federal Council have been taking place in the specially adapted Redoutensaal since September 2017. Access to public meetings and guided tours on non-meeting days is possible via the main entrance on Josefsplatz.
In 2019, the Court of Auditors criticized the fact that the recommended fire protection systems, especially in the residential sector, were still not up to date.
Stallburg
Although a separate building, the Stallburg is connected to the rest of the Hofburg complex by a walkway. It was originally built as a residence for Maximilian II as heir to the throne. According to tradition, Emperor Ferdinand I did not want to live under the same roof as his son, who was inclined towards Protestantism .
In the 17th century, the Stallburg housed the extensive art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm , the art-loving brother of Emperor Ferdinand III. , which forms a significant part of the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
During the 18th century the building was converted into one of the stables for the imperial horses, from which the name Stallburg derives. To this day, a large part of the Spanish Riding School is housed there.
Winter riding school
The winter riding school is located between the Redoutensaal wing and the Michaeler wing, opposite the Stallburg.
The first Austrian parliament , the Reichstag , met there in 1848 .
Michaeler tract
The Michaeler tract, the connection between the winter riding school and the Reich Chancellery wing, was also planned by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach in 1726. But since the old Burgtheater was in the way, this plan remained unfinished for a long time and was only actually built in a slightly different form by Ferdinand Kirschner between 1889 and 1893 .
Subsequently, there were repeated renovations and adjustments, especially from 1763 to 1769 under Nikolaus von Pacassi , who connected the court library with the rest of the castle and on the other side with the Augustinian Church and thus created Josefsplatz , which is considered one of the most beautiful squares in Vienna applies. After the Albertina was rebuilt in the 1820s by Joseph Kornhäusel according to the plans of Fischer von Erlach, it also connects to the Hofburg from the other side.
The St. Michael’s wing is crowned by a large, bronze dome. After the completion of Michaelerplatz, two fountains with sculptures were added to the front: The Power of the Sea by Rudolf Weyr on the left and The Power of the Land by Edmund Hellmer on the right.
Ceremonial hall wing
Leopoldin wing, before 1840, with the ceremonial hall wing protruding into today’s Heldenplatz ; To the right behind it, on the left edge of the picture, you can see the court library and on the left edge of the picture you can see Ballhausplatz
Ceremonial hall (former knight’s hall)
The ceremonial hall wing or Montoyer wing, which is now merged with the later built ballroom wing on the short side with the ceremonial hall (former knight’s hall, designed as a throne room) by Louis Montoyer , is another extension from 1804. Since it was built at a right angle to the Leopoldin wing, it protruded out of the castle and was called “The Nose of the Hofburg” for a long time. Today it is integrated into the New Castle .
The Ceremonial Hall is the most magnificent hall in the Hofburg. The Belgian architect Louis Montoyer designed the wing on behalf of Emperor Franz II/I. as a throne room. An artistic coffered ceiling and 26 crystal chandeliers, formerly equipped with 1,300 candles, give the hall an imperial shine. The 24 Corinthian columns are made of artificial marble. This is where Napoleon’s courtship of Emperor Franz II/I’s daughter, Marie Louise, took place, as well as the exclusive " Ball at Court ". On Maundy Thursday, Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth each invited twelve poor old men and women to the traditional foot washing.
The Trabantenstube served as a lounge for the Trabant Body Guards , who were responsible for the personal protection of the monarch. The guardsmen were stationed throughout the castle at key access points.
On May 15, 1717, Maria Theresa was baptized in the Knights’ Hall by the papal nuncio Spinola, the deputy of Pope Clement XI.
The structure of the marble hall next to the ceremonial hall dates from the 16th century; its interior decoration with artificial marble was adapted to the ceremonial hall around 1840. During imperial times it served as a dining room and for court children’s balls.
As a thank you for his efforts in the Italian campaign during the revolutionary year of 1848, Franz Joseph I allowed the distinguished field marshal Radetzky to live in his own rooms in the castle, even though he was not a member of the court. In the so-called Radetzky apartments, there are still historical tiled stoves in the corners, which were heated from the outside by a separate corridor.
Heroes’ Square
In 1809, part of the old bastions near the castle were blown up as a result of the coalition wars and then razed. At that time, new outbuildings (the so-called Hornwerk curtain wall and the escarps ) were built towards today’s Ringstrasse , into which the classicist castle gate was integrated. Within these ramparts, which were newly built in 1817, three gardens were created: the private imperial castle garden, the Heldenplatz as a lawn with avenues and the Volksgarten with the Temple of Theseus , which, like the castle gate, was designed by Peter von Nobile .
New castle and corps de logis
As part of the city expansion after the city walls were demolished in the 1860s, the last major expansion of the castle took place. The plan was for an Imperial Forum , a two-wing complex across the Ringstrasse, with the twin museums ( Art History and Natural History Museum ) as the flanks and Fischer von Erlach’s old court stables as the end. Gottfried Semper and later Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer were in charge of construction management for this project . The plan was only partially realized. The museums were completed in 1891, but the rest of the forum was delayed. In 1913 the southeast wing, the New Castle , was largely completed, but the Imperial Forum was ultimately shelved. After all, this is how Heldenplatz and Maria-Theresien-Platz came into being .
The final part of the building facing the Ringstrasse and the Outer Castle Gate is the Corps de Logis . The plans for the Imperial Forum were reduced in size and an identical counterpart to the Corps de Logis was to be built in order to make the area around the castle gate symmetrical. Heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand wanted to set up a museum in the planned other corps de logis.
The interior was completed after the end of the monarchy in the 1920s. Neither wing was therefore ever inhabited. Today they serve as exhibition rooms for numerous museums and as a reading room for the Austrian National Library .
As part of the construction of the New Castle, the monumental equestrian statues of the two most important Austrian generals, Prince Eugene of Savoy and Archduke Charles , were erected on Heroes’ Square. From the balcony of the Neue Burg towards Heldenplatz, the dictator Adolf Hitler announced the “annexation” of his homeland to the German Reich on March 15, 1938 .
The large cast-iron, decorated gates and grilles by Anton Biró at the New Castle and Corp de Logis were originally painted green and gilded. Over time they were painted black and the original color scheme was forgotten. During renovation work at the beginning of the 21st century, investigations revealed the original colors again. In agreement with the Federal Monuments Office, the castle authorities have reinstalled the gates at the Corps de Logis in green and gold.
Ballroom wing
The ballroom wing was built by Ludwig Baumann between 1910 and 1923. It connects the New Castle with the ceremonial hall wing and has the main side facing Heroes’ Square. It was originally planned as part of the “Imperial Forum” planned by Carl Hasenauer in 1866 and generously redesigned by Gottfried Semper in 1869.
At around 1,000 m², the Great Ballroom is the largest hall in the entire Hofburg. Although it was designed as a throne room, it was never used as such: the interior work ended in 1923 and the artistic design remained incomplete. Three ceiling paintings by Alois Hans Schramm glorify the rule of the Habsburgs. The motto of Emperor Franz Joseph I, Viribus Unitis , served as the motto of uniting forces. Eduard Veith and Viktor Stauffer immortalized personalities from Austrian history in the lunettes and octagon fields below . Maximilian I , Charles V , Ferdinand I , Rudolf II and Ferdinand II of Tyrol can be seen in the ceiling paintings , while Leopold I and Charles VI can be seen in the side panels . , Prince Eugene and the Polish King Jan III. Sobieski .
Since 1958, the ballroom wing has been used as a congress center by the Hofburg Kongresszentrum & Redoutensäle Wien GmbH. The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was held here. The OSCE has had an event organization office here since 1992 . In 2005, the so-called “Kesselhaushof” was roofed over and converted into a conference hall. In addition to numerous other balls, the Vienna Corporations Ball, which has been held here every year since 1968, has been controversial due to the repeated participation of right-wing extremist politicians .
Castle garden
The castle garden adjoins the southeastern front of the New Castle. In contrast to the Volksgarten, it was only reserved for members of the imperial family. A spacious terrace leads from the New Castle into the castle garden. The Palm House there , also known as the Butterfly House , was built by Friedrich Ohmann as the last building in the Hofburg in Art Nouveau style, replacing a greenhouse that had been built a hundred years earlier by Ludwig Gabriel von Remy .
There was once a connecting building between the Palm House and the New Castle, which closed off the back of the court library to form a new courtyard. This part was demolished again on the orders of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand , who wanted a clear view of the castle garden from the court library. The castle garden was only opened to the general public in the 1920s. After the Second World War, the Mozart monument was moved here from the badly damaged Albertinaplatz . There are also monuments to the emperors Franz I Stefan and Franz Joseph I.
Fence
At the time the New Castle was being built, several cast iron works were commissioned. This includes the long and high fence that encloses and protects the entire area. The fence starts at the palm house in the Burggarten and encompasses the Burggarten towards Goethegasse , then along the Ringstrasse past the Corps de Logis, to the castle gate and then along the Ringstrasse around the Volksgarten to the Burgtheater. There it stretches along Löwelstrasse towards the east where it separates and closes the Volksgarten from Heldenplatz. The parks of Burggarten, Heldenplatz and Volksgarten therefore belong to the immediate ensemble of the Hofburg. The decorated fence in the neo-baroque style was originally painted red and partially gilded. The lanterns are decorated with the imperial crown. Over time the fence was painted completely black. The original color scheme reappeared during restoration work in the 1990s. The fence was completely dismantled down to the foundations and the sandstone base ( Mannersdorfer Stein ) was repaired. Rust damage was removed and missing parts were replaced. After long investigations, the fence was able to shine again in its original red and gold color, at least in the area of the castle gate, but the rest of the area was kept in black again, probably for cost reasons.
Museums in the Hofburg
Various areas of the Hofburg are open to the public as museums. However, they are not all under the same administration:
The Imperial Apartments , the Sisi Museum and the Silver Collection are among the most visited sites of Austrian history. The original offices and living quarters of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth can still be viewed from the former Habsburg residence. The Sisi Museum brings visitors closer to the myth and truth about Empress Elisabeth (“Sisi”) in an elaborately staged manner. The former court silver and table chamber presents valuable porcelain, glass and silver services from the Habsburg family.
These areas are managed by the state-run Schönbrunn Palace Cultural and Operating Company.
The Austrian imperial insignia is in the treasury
The imperial treasury consists of the secular and the spiritual treasury . It houses the insignia of the Austrian hereditary homage, the Austrian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire , the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Burgundian heritage and the Habsburg-Lorraine household treasure. The Treasury is a department of the Art History Museum.
The Spanish Riding School is not a museum, but offers guided tours and performances in the winter riding school and the stable castle. There are smaller display cases in the visitor area that illustrate the history of the riding school.
The New Castle houses the court hunting and armory chamber , the collection of old musical instruments , the World Museum of Vienna (previously the Museum of Ethnology ), the Ephesus Museum , the Papyrus Collection and Papyrus Museum of Vienna and the House of Austrian History . Reading rooms of the Austrian National Library are also located there.
The treasury, Ephesus Museum, musical instrument collection as well as the court hunting and armory chamber are under the administration of the Art History Museum .
The court library with its state hall on Josefsplatz is open to the public.
It is managed by the National Library , which is also responsible for the papyrus collection in the New Castle.
The Archduke Albrecht Palace is part of the Hofburg building complex. The Albertina graphic collection is located here, and the Habsburg state rooms can also be visited. The Austrian Film Museum is located in the basement of the palace .
The Institute for Theater, Film and Media Studies is located in the Hofburg, the entrance is next to the Sisi Museum.
Posted by [email protected] on 2023-09-05 21:31:20
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