Hofburg
| Hofburg | |
|---|---|
 Older castle sections (left), Neue Burg section (center of image) and Outer Castle Gate (separate on the right), in foreground the Heldenplatz. | |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neo-Baroque |
| Location | Vienna, Austria |
| Coordinates | 48°12′23″N 16°21′55″E / 48.20639°N 16.36528°E |
The Hofburg (German:
Since 1279, the Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government.[1] The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries to include various residences (with the Amalienburg and the Albertina), the imperial chapel (Hofkapelle or Burgkapelle), the imperial library (Hofbibliothek), the treasury (Schatzkammer), the Burgtheater, the Spanish Riding School (Hofreitschule), the imperial mews (Stallburg and Hofstallungen).
The palace faces the Heldenplatz (Heroes' Square) ordered under the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I, as part of what was planned to become the Kaiserforum but which was never completed.
Numerous architects have executed work at the Hofburg as it expanded, notably the Italian architect-engineer Filiberto Luchese,
History
1 Swiss Wing, 2a Augustinian Church, 2b Augustinian Monastery, 3 Stallburg, 4 Amalienburg, 5 Leopoldine Wing, 6 Redouten Wing, 7 Winter Riding School, 8 Imperial Library, 9 Augustinian Wing, 10 Archduke Albrecht Palace (formerly Tarouca-de Sylva Palace), 11 Imperial Chancellory Wing, 12 Festsaal (Festival Hall Wing), 13 St. Michael's Wing, 14 Neue Burg Wing, 15 Corps de Logis, 16 Palm House.
A Inner Castle Square, B Ballhausplatz (Ball House Square), C St. Michael's Square, D Schweizerhof (Swiss Court), E Joseph Square, F Albertina Square, G Burggarten (Castle Garden), H Heldenplatz (former Outer Castle Square)
Historical construction stages in colours:
The name translates as "Castle of the Court", which denotes its origins when initially constructed during the
It is also the permanent home of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
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The whole palace complex is under the administration of the governor (Burghauptmann), who in turn is part of the Burghauptmannschaft, an office which has been in existence since the Middle Ages under the auspices of the Burgrave. At present the Burghauptmannschaft is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of the Economy.
In September 1958, parts of the Hofburg were opened to the public as a convention centre. In the first ten years, the Burghauptmannschaft operated the convention centre; since 1969 a private company (Hofburg Vienna – Wiener Kongresszentrum Hofburg Betriebsgesellschaft) has been managing the international congress and events centre. Every year the convention centre hosts about 300–350 events, with around 300,000–320,000 guests. Among the events are conventions and meetings as well as banquets, trade fairs, concerts, and balls.
Swiss Wing
The oldest parts of the palace date from the 13th century and were primarily constructed by the last of the
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The castle originally had a square outline, with four
The appearance of the Swiss Court dates from the Renaissance, during the reign of the Emperor Ferdinand I. The Swiss Gate entrance (Schweizertor) displays the many titles of Ferdinand I and the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece are painted on the ceiling.
An adjoining section of the Swiss Wing houses the Radetzky Apartments. In recognition of his services in the Italian campaign during the revolutionary year of 1848, the Emperor Franz Joseph I permitted the worthy Field Marshal
In the Knight's Hall (Rittersaal), on 15 May 1717 the Empress
Next to the Knight's Hall is the Guard Room (Trabantenstube), where the duty officer of the Household Guards kept watch over the emperor. The lower section of this wing once accommodated the imperial kitchen.
Amalienburg
Across from the Swiss Gate is the Amalienburg, named after Empress
Leopoldine Wing
The connection between the Amalienburg and the Swiss Court is the Leopoldine Wing (Leopoldinischer Flügel) which was first built in the 1660s under Emperor
The Privy Council Room (Geheime Ratstube) is part of the wing. This is where Emperor Franz Joseph I held his opening speeches at the sessions of the Austro-Hungarian Delegation. Here the
The lower section of this wing as well as that of the Amalienburg served as the enormous wine cellar for the Hofburg.
Imperial Chancellery Wing
An additional father-son collaborative project resulted in the Winter Riding School (Winterreitschule) across from the Stallburg (and where the
The chancellery, Swiss court, Amalienburg and Leopoldine Wing form the Inner Castle Court (innerer Burghof). In the middle is a bronze statue of Francis I dressed as a Roman emperor, by Pompeo Marchesi.
Court Library
Originally a free-standing structure, the Court Library (
The library to the north is located at Joseph Square.
More structures and annexes were successively added. Particularly from 1763 to 1769,
Joseph Square
Of note are the bronze equestrian statue of Emperor Joseph II.
Augustinian Wing
Built right before the adjacent Court Library, on the south-east side of Joseph Square, lies the baroque Augustinian Wing with the Augustinian church and monastery. As the palace expanded, the church and monastery became an integral part of the building.
The Augustinian Church was used by the Habsburgs as their court church and also for weddings. This is where Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, alias Sisi, were married.
Behind the Loreto side chapel is located the Hearts' Crypt, a semicircular-shaped annexe separated by an iron door, where 54 hearts of House of Habsburg members are kept in silver urns.[2]
The
Redoute Wing
Empress
The original plans were drawn up by
On 27 November 1992 the whole wing with the Redoutensäle was seriously damaged by fire. The reconstruction and restoration work lasted five years. While the smaller Kleiner Redoutensaal was faithfully restored, for the interior of the larger Grosser Redoutensaal a design competition was held, which was won by the Austrian artist
The Redoutensäle reopened in 1998 in the framework of the first Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and became since then part of the Hofburg Congress Centre.
Restoration of the roof of the wing gave an opportunity to convert the original loft space into a new amenity called the Rooftop Foyer (Dachfoyer). The architect Manfred Wehdorn designed a modern interior, completed with a spherical structure for secure conferences and panoramic windows. Besides the roof, he also converted the former courtyard between the Hall of Festivals and the southwest wing of the Swiss courtyard to another space.
By 2017 the wing was renovated to house the National Council and the Federal Council while the Austrian Parliament Building is under renovation.
Stallburg
Although not physically connected to the rest of the complex, the imperial mews (Stallburg) of the Hofburg were originally built as a residence for the then crown prince, Maximilian. It is said that Ferdinand I did not wish to house his son under his roof, as Maximilian had veered towards Protestantism. This structure later accommodated the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, the art-inclined brother of Emperor Ferdinand III, and the collection forms the core of the later Kunsthistorisches Museum from 1889. The residence was converted during the Baroque era to house the imperial horses on the ground floor and is used by the Spanish Riding School (Spanische Hofreitschule).
St. Michael's Wing
St. Michael's Wing was also planned by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, and it serves as the connection between the Winter Riding School and the Imperial Chancellery Wing. However, because the old Imperial Court Theatre (Burgtheater) stood in the way, these plans remained unrealized until Ferdinand Kirschner built the wing from 1889 to 1893, utilizing a slightly altered plan.
After the completion of St. Michael's Square, two sculpted fountains were installed on the façade of the wing: Power at Sea by
The wing is named in reference to
Festival Hall Wing
The walls of the Marble Hall in front of the Hall of Ceremonies date back to the 16th century and theoretically belong to the Leopoldine Wing, but the scagliola for the interior was changed around 1840 to match the appearance of the newer Hall of Ceremonies. During the imperial period it was used as a dining room and for balls for the children at court.
The Hall of Ceremonies was built for Emperor Francis II/I by the Belgian architect Louis Montoyer at the beginning of the 19th century. Because of its additional nature, it formed a clearly visible protrusion at right angles to the Leopoldine Wing for almost a hundred years, and was therefore also called the "Nose".
With its ornate coffered ceiling and 26 crystal chandeliers, which once held 1,300 candles, the Hall of Ceremonies was grand. The 24 Corinthian columns are done in scagliola technique, in which painted gypsum resembles marble. In this hall Napoleon I asked for the hand of Archduchess Marie Louise, the daughter of Emperor Francis II/I. This was also where court balls were held and later also speeches from the throne. and where the exclusive Ball at the Court was held. On Maundy Thursday, the emperor and empress invited twelve poor old men and women to have their feet washed in a traditional Maundy ceremony.
Later on the Hall of Ceremonies became fully integrated into the New Castle (Neue Burg) by 1916.
With its 1,000m2 of floor space, the Hall of Festivals (Festsaal) is the biggest hall in the whole of the Hofburg. Although built as a throne room, it was never used as such. The internal works were finished in 1923, but the artwork remained incomplete. The hall has Alois Hans Schramm's three ceiling paintings, dedicated to the greater glory of the Habsburgs, complete with Emperor Franz Joseph's motto "Viribus Unitis" (with united strength). The lower lunettes and octagonal panels are decorated with paintings by Eduard Veith and Viktor Stauffer of famous people from Austrian history, with Maximilian I, Charles V, Ferdinand I, Rudolph II and Ferdinand II of Tyrol to be seen in the ceiling paintings, and Leopold I, Charles VI, Prince Eugene and also the Polish King John III Sobieski in the side panels. The hall was also the venue for 1967 Eurovision Song Contest.[4]
Heroes Square
In 1809, a part of the old
The Hall of Ceremonies and the Neue Burg make up the backdrop of the square.
Equestrian statues of the two most important Austrian field marshals, Prince Eugene of Savoy and Archduke Charles, stand at the foci of Heroes Square. On 15 March 1938 Adolf Hitler proclaimed from the balcony of the New Castle onto Heroes' Square the "Anschluss" of Austria into the Nazi Third Reich.
Neue Burg
Following the enlargement of Vienna after the demolition of the city walls in the 1860s, the Hofburg had its last great expansion. An Imperial Forum (Kaiserforum) was planned, in which a two-winged structure reaching beyond the Ring Road, with the twin museums (
The New Castle wing today houses a number of museums (the Ephesos Museum, the Collection of Arms and Armour, the Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments, and the Museum of Ethnology) as well as some reading rooms of the national library. The Hofburg Congress Centre is also located here.
Coins
The Hofburg featured as the main motif on the
Images
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Imperial court chapel -
Amalienburg -
Rose room in the Leopoldine wing -
Main hall of the court library -
Statue of Hercules slaying the Lernaean Hydra, exterior façade statuary on St. Michael's wing -
Main staircase of the Neue Burg wing -
Prince Eugene of Savoy monument directly in front of the Hofburg
See also
Notes
- ^ Aeiou-Hofburg-English. Archived 2009-02-15 at the Wayback Machine. "Hofburg, Wien" (history). Encyclopedia of Austria. Aeiou Project. 2006.
- ^ "Die Herzgruft in der Loretokapelle". Augustinerkirche. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
- ^ The Austrian Foreign Ministry. "Redoutensäle". www.eu2006.at. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1967". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
Literature
- Kurdiovsky, Richard, ed. (2008). The office of the Austrian Federal President at the Vienna Hofburg (in German and English). Herbert Karner, Richard Kurdiovsky, Marcus Langer, Hellmut Lorenz, Anna Mader, Florian Steininger und Manuel Weinberger; Photography by Manfred Seidl. Vienna: Christian Brandstätter Verlag. p. 159. ISBN 978-3-85033-161-6.
External links
Media related to Hofburg at Wikimedia Commons- Hofburg Wien Archived 2016-09-23 at the Wayback Machine – official site, information on the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection
- Wien.info about Hofburg.
- Website of HOFBURG Vienna (Hofburg Congress Centre)
- Website of the Vienna Hofburg Orchestra
- The Hofburg Complex
- Hofburg Imperial Palace information and photography
- Panoramic virtual views inside the Hofburg Imperial Palace
- Collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum – Located in the Neue Burg
- Hofburg's Armory, photo gallery in Flickr
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