Belvedere palace in Vienna (Austria)

The Belvedere is a historic building complex and art museum in Vienna, Austria. The complex consists of two Baroque palaces, the Upper and Lower Belvedere, together with the Orangery, the Palace Stables, and a formal Baroque garden. It is located in the city’s third district, Landstraße, on the south-eastern edge of Vienna’s historic centre. Built as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the complex was designed principally by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and completed in the early eighteenth century. Today the Belvedere is one of Austria’s major art museums. The museum institution presents Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present in an international context, with the Upper Belvedere housing the permanent collection, the Lower Belvedere used for special exhibitions, and Belvedere 21 devoted to contemporary Austrian and international art, film, and music. The Belvedere Palace and garden ensemble forms part of the Baroque heritage of the Historic Centre of Vienna, a World Heritage Site. The Belvedere was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which was then the imperial capital and residence city of the Habsburg monarchy. This period of prosperity followed Prince Eugene’s successful military campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. Lower Belvedere On 30 November 1697, one year after beginning construction of the Stadtpalais, Prince Eugene of Savoy purchased a plot of land south of the Rennweg, the main road to Hungary. Plans for the Belvedere garden complex were drawn up soon afterwards. Hildebrandt, whom Eugene had met during a military campaign in Piedmont, had already built Ráckeve Palace for him in 1702 on Csepel, an island in the Danube south of Budapest. When Prince Eugene acquired the land for the Belvedere, the area was largely undeveloped and suitable for a landscaped garden and summer palace. He bought additional neighbouring plots in 1708, 1716, and 1717–18, allowing the garden to be expanded in stages. Construction of the Lower Belvedere began by 1712. Work proceeded quickly, and Marcantonio Chiarini from Bologna began painting the quadratura in the central hall in 1715. A diplomatic representative from the southern Netherlands visited both the Lower Belvedere and the Stadtpalais in April 1716. The Lower Belvedere served as a Lustschloss, or pleasure palace, closely connected to the gardens. Upper Belvedere Construction of the Upper Belvedere began in the late 1710s and was completed in 1723. The palace was conceived less as a private residence than as a representative building for ceremonies, receptions, and display. In 1719 Eugene commissioned the Italian painter Francesco Solimena to execute the altarpiece for the Palace Chapel and the ceiling painting in the Gold Cabinet. During the same year Gaetano Fanti was commissioned to produce illusionistic quadratura painting in the Marble Hall. In 1720 Carlo Innocenzo Carlone was entrusted with the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall, which he executed between 1721 and 1723. The Upper Belvedere appears on the Austrian 20-cent euro coin. Gardens The Belvedere Gardens were designed in the formal French manner by Dominique Girard, who had trained in the gardens of Versailles. The main garden extends between the Lower and Upper Belvedere over three large terraces. Its design includes symmetrical parterres, water basins, steps, cascades, clipped hedges, and sculptures. The gardens contain extensive mythological references that allude to the rise of Prince Eugene, with a sculptural programme linking him to the god Apollo. A great water basin in the upper parterre and the stairs and cascades connecting the upper and lower parts of the garden survive, although the original patterned bedding was later replaced in part by lawns. Opening hours and prices Upper Belvedere Opening hours: Monday to Sunday (9 am – 6 pm) Adults: €23.00 Seniors (+65) and students (-26): €19.00 Children (-19): free Lower Belvedere Opening hours: Monday to Sunday (10 am – 6 pm) Adults: €20.00 Seniors (+65) and students (-26): €16.00 Children (-19): free Transport The nearest stop is Schloss Belvedere, served by tram routes 71 and D. At the southern entrance is the Quartier Belvedere train station, serving suburban and express trains. To the north is another tram stop, Unteres Belvedere (route 71). See also France travel guide Spain travel guide Catalonia travel guide Pyrenees travel guideThe post Belvedere palace in Vienna (Austria) first appeared on All PYRENEES.