🇦🇹 Belvedere Palace

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The Belvedere

The magnificent Baroque ensemble of the Belvedere Palace extends from Schwarzenbergplatz, on Ringstraße, to the Landstraßer Gürtel. Widely considered one of Europe's most beautiful Baroque buildings, it is one of UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage sites. The Palace has huge significance not just for the people of Vienna, in fact, but for Austrians everywhere: it was here that the Austrian State Treaty was signed on 15 May 1955, beginning a new chapter for the Republic and bringing the Second World War, and its subsequent occupation, to an end for the country.

The palace complex with the impressive name, which is derived from the Italian for “beautiful view”, was constructed between 1714 and 1723 by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt on behalf of Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of the most important commanders in the Habsburg Empire. It first took shape outside the capital's city walls, which ran along what is now Ringstraße. The two palaces – the Lower and the Upper Belvedere – are linked by Baroque gardens including three large terraces, fountains and water pools. The Lower Belvedere was actually an existing building which was acquired by Prince Eugene in a land purchase, and converted into the royal residence, including the Orangery and staterooms, according to his designs. The Upper Belvedere, located around 23 metres higher, was used to serve purposes of royal representation. Although he has become an important institution, the Prince was already a legend during his own lifetime as a result of his glorious military victories, most importantly over the Ottoman Army. Numerous pictures, busts and statues of his person attest to his enduring popularity. You'll find the best-known statue of the Prince - the imposing 'Prince Eugene equestrian monument' - on Heldenplatz.

Eugene wasn't just a skilled military commander, however; he was also a highly-prized collector and patron of the arts. His wide-ranging collection of books, for example, is now stored in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library. It is suiting that a true temple to the arts should have been created out of the Belvedere Palace. The Austrian Gallery Belvedere was begun when the royal art collections simply became too large for the staterooms in the Hofburg complex originally intended for them. In 1776, Maria Theresa, who acquired the Palace after Prince Eugene's death, decreed that the works contained in the imperial gallery should be relocated to the Upper Belvedere. The Lower Belvedere subsequently housed the Ambras Collection, as well as items of antique and Egyptian art. In 1891, all these works of art were transferred to the recently-constructed Kunsthistorisches Museum. In 1903, the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education opened the 'Moderne Galerie' at the Lower Belvedere, later to be renamed the 'Austrian State Gallery' and extended to the Upper Belvedere. In the 1920s, a Baroque Museum, a Gallery of the 19th Century and a Modern Gallery were all established in the Orangery. A number of major works were acquired, including paintings by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. In 1955, following several years of renovation work in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Upper Belvedere was reopened to lovers of the arts.

Today, no trip to Vienna would be complete without a visit to the Belvedere Palace. This outstanding art collection, which has evolved historically and is set against an imperial backdrop, is one of the Austrian capital's most-visited tourist attractions. Individual sections of the collection offer an extensive overview of the art of the Middle Ages, through Baroque, right up to contemporary art. The works of French Impressionism and Viennese Biedermeier held here are of singular importance, for instance. The works by Austrian painters of the fin-de-siècle and Art Nouveau periods are the pride of the gallery. The 'Art around 1900' exhibition at the Upper Belvedere includes the world's largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt, as well as works by Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. This also includes one of Klimt's best-known works, 'Der Kuss’ - 'The Kiss'. He began painting the picture, originally named 'Das Liebespaar', or 'The Lovers', in 1908, going on to complete it a year later. It is considered a product of what scholars refer to as Klimt's 'Golden Period', when he painted what were to become his most enduring pictures. Fine gold, silver and platinum lamella adorn the background, while the robes of the closely-intertwined couple are coated in gold leaf. When Klimt presented the picture in public for the first time, it was acquired by the Austrian state. The Kiss earned Klimt 25,000 crowns - a princely sum at the time - and was moved from his studio in the city to the newly-founded Moderne Galerie at the Lower Belvedere.

If you are interested in contemporary art above all, then you should also make the time to drop in on the annexe of the Belvedere, the Belvedere 21. This is accommodated in a pavilion close by, on the other side of the Gürtel, and is viewed as an icon of post-war modernist architecture. The museum itself is a showplace for Austrian and international contemporary art, film and music.

And finally, be a bit careful: even if 'Belvedere' is written with an 'e' at the end, you don't need to pronounce it!

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