Belvedere, Vienna, Austria - SpottingHistory.com

Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), an accomplished general and art connoisseur, built the Belvedere palace as his summer residence. Today, the Belvedere, one of the most important baroque buildings in Austria, is located in Vienna’s third district. However at the time of its construction, the palace was located outside the city gates. Belvedere palace consists of two seperate buildings: the Upper and Lower Belvedere, which are connected by a stunning baroque garden. Enjoy views of Vienna’s first district from the Upper Belvedere. Today it houses not only Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present day, but also the world's largest Klimt collection, with the golden paintings 'The Kiss' and 'Judith' as the highlights. Masterpieces by Schiele and Kokoschka, as well as works of French Impressionism and the Vienna Biedermeier era round out the exhibition.

Prince Eugene’s apartments and staterooms are located at the Lower Belvedere. The feudal splendor of the palace’s aristocratic original owner is reflected in the Hall of Grotesques, the Marble Gallery, and the Golden Room. The Lower Belvedere and the Orangery are used mainly for temporary exhibitions, while the Palace Stables are now home to some 150 objects of sacred medieval art that blend with the Baroque ambiance in a compelling fashion.

The Palace Gardens are unfolding in strict symmetry along a central axis to the prestige building of the Upper Belvedere and features beautiful sculptures, fountains and cascades.

References:

austria.info

User Reviews

Sam Clayton (3 months ago)
Many review here have rightly commented on the amazing architecture and art collection here, however I would like to say THANK YOU! to the Belvedere for providing a wonderful accessible facility with easy access for wheelchairs AND the facility to borrow wheelchairs if you have traveled without your own. Without the ramps, help and the availability of loan wheelchairs we wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate the art, architecture and culture. Thank you!

Shu Hua Chua (4 months ago)
It's worth buying a ticket to enter the palace. The palace itself is an art! It is famous for The Kiss (Lovers) by Gustav Klimt, but you will find other exquisite paintings too. I saw small groups of young students sat on the floor, admiring paintings and answering questions from their teachers. It made my day!

bijen shah (4 months ago)
Lovely building with a wonderful art collection. The key artwork must be Gustav Klimt's The Kiss which is one of many of his paintings there that represent his entire career. Otherwise there are plenty of exceptional paintings. The giant carved figures that support the ceiling of the entrance hall are a surprise. Lovely building with superb gardens adorned with sculpture. Highly recommended..

Flavy T (4 months ago)
Beautiful place. Two wonderful palaces ( upper and lower). The upper Belvedere is where the Kiss (Klimt) can be seen and also other amazing paintings. I would return anytime. A single visit seems too short. If you have the Vienna pass, both of them are included.

Frank Stewart (5 months ago)
Visited Aug 18. Beautiful palace and gardens. A short line up to buy tickets for the full visit or selected areas. I spent 3 hours here looking at all the fantastic paintings and statues as well as the fantastic architecture of the building. On entry to the palace the foyer and stairway is a work of art in its self. The views outside from the top floors are amazing. The Klimt gallery has the famous paintings that we have all seen before but never the "real thing." "The Kiss" is just one of them. Very enjoyable place to visit. There are many stairs but there is also a lift for less able bodied people. There are some paintings that you cant take pictures of. The sign next to art pieces will let you know if you can take pics or not...or ask the security guards in each room. A recommended place to visit with the family!

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The Moszna Castle is one of the best known monuments in the western part of Upper Silesia. The history of this building begins in the 17th century, although much older cellars were found in the gardens during excavations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the investigators, including H. Barthel, claimed that those cellars could have been remnants of a presumed Templar castle, but their theory has never been proved. After World War II, further excavations discovered a medieval palisade.

The central part of the castle is an old baroque palace which was partially destroyed by fire on the night of April 2, 1896 and was reconstructed in the same year in its original form by Franz Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. The reconstruction works involved an extension of the residence. The eastern Neogothic-styled wing of the building was built by 1900, along with an adjacent orangery. In 1912-1914, the western wing was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. The architectural form of the castle contains a wide variety of styles, thus it can be generally defined as eclectic.

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After World War II the castle did not have a permanent owner and was the home of various institutions until 1972 when it became a convalescent home. Later it became a Public Health Care Centre for Therapies of Neuroses. Nowadays it can be visited by tourists since the health institution has moved to another building in the neighbourhood. The castle also has a chapel which is used as a concert hall. Since 1998 the castle housed a gallery in which works of various artists are presented at regular exhibitions.

Apart from the castle itself, the entire complex includes a park which has no precise boundaries and includes nearby fields, meadows and a forest. Only the main axis of the park can be characterised as geometrical. Starting from the gate, it leads along the oak and then horse-chestnut avenues, towards the castle. Further on, the park passes into an avenue of lime trees with symmetrical canals running along both sides of the path, lined with a few varieties of rhododendrons. The axis of the park terminates at the base of a former monument of Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. On the eastern side of the avenue there is a pond with an islet referred to by the owners as Easter Island. The islet is planted with needle-leaved shrubs and can be reached by a Chinese-styled bridge. The garden, as part of the whole park complex was restored slightly earlier than the castle itself. Preserved documents of 1868 state that the improvement in the garden's aesthetic quality was undertaken by Hubert von Tiele-Winckler.

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