Hofburg
hofburg
Swiss Wing
The oldest sections originate from the 13th century and were primarily constructed by the last of the Babenbergers or by Ottakar II of Bohemia. Previously the castle of the Austrian rulers had been located on the square called "Am Hof," which is near the Schottenstift (Scottish Monastery).
These oldest sections of the castle form a square, surrounding what corresponds somewhat to today's Swiss Court (Schweizerhof). There situated are a gothic chapel (Burgkapelle), from the 15th century, and the treasury (Schatzkammer), which holds, among other objects, the Imperial Insignia of the Holy Roman Empire (Reichskleinodien) and that of the Empire of Austria. The Imperial Music Chapel (Hofmusikkapelle) is also located in this area. This Swiss Court was built during the reign of Emperor Ferdinand I in the style of the Renaissance. Its famous red-black Swiss Gate (Schweizertor) displays the many titles of Emperor Ferdinand I and the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The lower section of this wing once accommodated the imperial kitchen.
Stallburg
Although not physically connected to the rest of the complex, the Imperial Stables (Stallburg) of the Hofburg were originally built as a residence for the then crown prince Maximilian II. It is said that Ferdinand I did not wish to house his son under his roof, being that Maximilian had veered towards Protestantism. This structure later accommodated the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, the art-inclined brother of Emperor Ferdinand III. This collection forms the core of the later Kunsthistorisches Museum from 1889. Only later were the Imperial Stables used to house the imperial horses, and even today it is still used by the Spanish Riding School (Spanische Hofreitschule).
Amalienburg
Across from the Swiss Gate is the Amalienburg, named after Amalie Wilhelmine, the widow of Joseph I. However, this wing had already been in use for more than a century, constructed as the Viennese residence of Emperor Rudolph II in the style of the late Renaissance. Of note is the small tower with its dome and the astronomical clock on its façade.
Leopold Wing
The connection between the Amalienburg and the Swiss Court is the Leopold Wing which was first erected in the 1660s under Emperor Leopold I. The architect was Filiberto Lucchese, but after the Siege of 1683 by the Turks, the wing was rebuilt by Giovanni Pietro Tencala with an additional floor installed. Through its architecture, this wing still bears a connection to the Late Renaissance. It is in this wing that the offices of the Federal President are located. The lower section of this wing as well as that of the Amalienburg served as the enormous wine cellar for the Hofburg.
Imperial Chancellory Wing
An additional father-son collaborative project resulted in the Winter Riding School (Winterreitschule) across from the Stallburg (and where the first Austrian parliament sat in 1848) and in the Imperial Chancellory Wing (Reichskanzleitrakt) across from the Leopold Wing. The latter was originally planned by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt and accommodated, in addition to the Aulic Council (Reichshofrat), the offices of the Imperial Vice Chancellor (Reichsvizekanzler), who was the de facto prime minister of the Holy Roman Empire since the position of Imperial Arch-Chancellor (Reichserzkanzler)—which the Imperial Vice Chancellor represented—had always been filled by the Archbishop of Mainz since the Middle Ages. After the end of the Holy Roman Empire, this wing housed the apartments of the Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II) and later those of Emperor Francis Joseph I.
Imperial Library
Originally a free-standing structure, the Imperial Library (Hofbibliothek) was housed on the other side of the complex. Charles VI founded the library, which is now called the Prunksaal, cared for by the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek). Its construction was begun by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and finished by his son Joseph Emanuel in 1735. This magnificent hall contains the book collection of Prince Eugene, an enormous ceiling fresco by Daniel Gran, and statues of emperors by Paul Strudel making this part of the Hofburg its most significant in artistic terms. The exterior decoration with Attika figures was executed by Lorenzo Mattielli in 1726. He placed a statue of Pallas Athene riding on a quadriga above the main entrance. On the left portion of the roof, he situated Atlas, supporting the celestial globe, flanked by Astronomy and Astrology, and on the opposite side, Gaia with the terrestrial globe, flanked by allegories of Geometry and Geography.
Augustinian Wing
Built right before the adjacent Imperial Library, on the south-east side of Joseph Square, lies the Baroque Augustinian Wing so identified for its proximity to the Augustinian Church and Monastery, and, as the Hofburg Palace expanded, it became part of it. The Archduke Albrecht Palace (formerly Tarouca-de Sylva Palace), home of the Albertina Museum, is also considered part of the Hofburg Palace because of its structural connections to the Augustinian Monastery. Besides, in early years of the 19th century members of the Habsburg Family lived in the building, such as Archduke Albrecht and, later, his nephew, Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen.
The Augustinian Church was used by the Habsburgs as their court church and also for weddings. This is where Emperor Franz Joseph II 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.
Redouten Wing
Maria Theresia had a 17th-century opera house converted into the beautiful dance and concert halls now known as the Redoutensaele. The original plans were drawn up by Jean Nicolas Jadot de Ville-Issey, while the external façades are the work of Nicolò Pacassi and Franz Anton Hillebrandt. The Redoutensaele soon became the setting for a cultivated style of entertainment. The name is derived from the French word "wikt:redoute", meaning an elegant masked ball, and such balls were also held there. Johann Strauss served as musical director to the court for the balls, and the audience was treated to music by Joseph Haydn, Nicolo Paganini and Franz Liszt. The premiere of Beethoven's 8th Symphony took place there in 1814. The well known saying "The Congress dances" derives from the balls held in the Redoutensaele in the framework of the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15. Over the centuries, various modification have been made the balls in line with changing tastes.
On 27 November 1992 the whole wing with the Redoutensaele was seriously damaged by fire. The reconstruction and restorage work performed lasted five years. While the Kleiner Redoutensaal was faithfully restored, for the interior of the Grosser Redoutensaal a design competition was held, which was won by the Austrian artist Josef Mikl. He created a number of oil paintings based on literary quotations taken from Ferdinand Raimund, Johann Nepomuk Nestroy, Elias Canetti and Karl Kraus. The Redoutensaele reopened in 1998 in the framework of the first Austrian presidency of the EU and became since then part of the Hofburg Congress Center.
St. Michael's Wing
The 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 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.
More structures and annexes were successively added. Particularly from 1763 to 1769, Nicolo Pacassi connected the Imperial Library to the other parts of the Hofburg and its other side to St. Augustine's Church (Augustinerkirche), and he thus created the present Joseph Square (Josephsplatz), one of the most beautiful locations in Vienna. After the renovation of the Albertina in the 1820s by Joseph Kornhäusel, that section became connected to the Hofburg as well.
The Ceremonial Hall - Montoyer Wing
"Nose of the Hofburg" - that was the name originally given to the Zeremoniensaal or Ceremonial Hall. It was built for Emperor Franz II/I by the Belgian architect Louis Montoyer at the beginning of the 19th century. Its nickname derived from the fact that it formed a clearly visible protrusion at right angles to the Leopold Wing for almost a hundred years. With its ornate coffered ceiling and 26 crystal chandeliers, which once held 1,300 candles, the Zeremoniensaal has a truly imperial aspect. The 24 Corinthian columns have an artificial marble finish, the surface is not real stone but a form of painted gypsum known as stucco lustro. Right here Napoleon asked for the hand of Marie Louise, the daughter of Emperor Franz II/I, and where the exclusive Ball at the Court was held. On Maundy Thursday, Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth invited twelve poor old men and women to have their feet washed in a traditional Maundy ceremony.
Heldenplatz
In 1809, a part of the old bastion adjacent to the old castle was demolished in the course of the Napoleonic Wars. All the way up to the present Ringstraße, new grounds were laid, in which the neoclassical Castle Gate (Burgtor) was integrated. Within the new walls which were erected in 1817, three gardens were laid: the private Imperial Castle Garden (Burggarten), Heroes Square as a lawn with boulevards, and the People's Garden (Volksgarten) with the Temple of Theseus (Theseustempel), which, along with the Burgtor, was designed by Peter von Nobile. A further addition from this period (already by 1804) is the Hall of Ceremonies (Zeremoniensaal) by Louis Montoyer, which at that time was a protrusion jutting out of the complex. Today it is fully integrated into the New Castle (Neue Burg).
Neue Burg and Montoyer Wing
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—a two-winged structure reaching beyond the Ringstraße, with the twin museums (Kunsthistorisches Museum and Naturhistorisches Museum) as flanks and terminating at the old Imperial Stables (the Hofstallungen, not to be confused with the much older Stallburg) of Fischer von Erlach. The project was led by Gottfried Semper and later by Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer. The museums were completed in 1891, but construction of the rest of the forum dragged on slowly and conflicted since, besides ostentation, no real function could be found for the enormous construction project. In 1913, the south-west wing, the New Castle (Neue Burg), was completed. However, the Imperial Forum was never finished. In its place, Heroes Square (Heldenplatz) and Maria Therese Square (Maria-Theresien-Platz) were laid.
The New Castle wing today houses a number of museums (the Ephesos Museum, the Collection of Arms and Armor, the Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments, and the Museum of Ethnology) as well as the reading rooms of the Austrian National Library and the Hofburg Congress Center of international renown.
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 March 15, 1938, Adolf Hitler proclaimed from the balcony of the New Castle onto Heroes' Square the "Anschluss" of Austria into the Third Reich (Deutsches Reich).