Vienna. Art Nouveau and Modernity

In addition to the familiar Gothic and Baroque buildings, Art Nouveau has a fixed place in Viennese architecture. At the turn of the 20th century, prominent architects such as Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos, and Joseph Maria Olbrich erected world-renowned buildings such as the Secession, the Postal Savings Bank, and the Loos House.

  

Vienna was one of the birthplaces of modernity at the beginning of the last century. In architecture too, master builders blazed new trails. Above all, it was Otto Wagner who shaped Vienna's skyline as we know it today. He preferred a geometric variant of Art Nouveau. His buildings are clear and usually symmetrically-arranged - matter-of-fact and down-to-earth. The most important Wagner buildings in Vienna are the stations, premises and bridges of the former Stadtbahn (today U4 and U6), the Majolika House and Muse House on Wienzeile, the Church on Steinhof and the Postal Savings Bank. The noteworthy component of Art Nouveau architecture were the ornaments. These were used especially for the exterior design. Marble, glass, tiles, metal applications, colorful pieces, and gilding ennobled the houses.

Floral ornaments are on one of the most important Art Nouveau buildings, the Vienna Secession. Built by Joseph Maria Olbrich in 1898, it was the first exhibition building in Central Europe to be dedicated to modern art. Another important representative of Viennese Art Nouveau was Josef Hoffmann. His villas in the 19th district still give an impression of the style that dominated at that time.

Adolf Loos and his Loos House

Adolf Loos spoke out against any decoration of buildings; his purely functional architecture thus distanced him clearly from the Art Nouveau style. The Loos House on Michaelerplatz is the best evidence of his work: instead of ornaments, high-quality materials were used both inside and out. The "house without eyebrows" (because the small roofs over the windows that were common at the time were lacking here) was a shock for citizens of Vienna who were used to Historicism and for Kaiser Franz Joseph, who could see the house from the Imperial Palace and loathed it.

The First World War and the collapse of the monarchy in 1918 brought about the end of Viennese Art Nouveau. The social housing of "Red Vienna" shaped the Viennese architecture of the period between the wars.

  

Vienna. Museums

Vienna has more than 100 museums. These include important collections of world renown as well as small establishments that impress with original exhibits. Artists of the century, such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, meet the stars of contemporary Vienna.

Leading museums

House of Austrian History

Exactly a hundred years after the founding of the First Republic on November 12, 1918, the House of Austrian History opens in Vienna. It is housed in the Neue Burg on Heldenplatz. On a total area of 1,800 m², it vividly depicts the creation of Austria, from the Habsburg monarchy, through the First Republic, annexation to the Third Reich and founding of the Second Republic down to the present day.

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Art History Museum)

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) was built in 1891 near the Imperial Palace to house the extensive collections of the imperial family. With its vast array of eminent works and the largest Bruegel collection in the world, it is considered one of the most eminent museums in the world.

Numerous major art works of European art history, among them Raphael’s "Madonna in the Meadow," Vermeer’s "The Allegory of Painting," the Infanta paintings by Velazquez, masterworks by Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Titian and Tintoretto are housed in the paintings gallery. The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection contains fascinating treasures from mysterious cultures long past.

Albertina

The Albertina not only has the largest and most valuable graphical collections in the world, with works such as Dürer’s “Hare” and Klimt's studies of women. Its latest exhibition collection presents masterpieces of the Modern, spanning Monet to Picasso and Baselitz. As the largest Habsburg residential palace, the Albertina dominates the southern tip of the Imperial Palace on one of the last remaining fortress walls in Vienna.

Vienna. Hofburg - Imperial Palace

Vienna's Imperial Palace is one of the biggest palace complexes in the world. The oldest parts date to the 13th century, with construction having continued right into the 20th century. The Imperial Palace was the residence and seat of government of the Habsburg emperors until 1918. Today, it is home to numerous museums with outstanding collections, the Spanish Riding School, a congress center, the seat of the Austrian Federal President as well as the historic Heldenplatz.

The Imperial Apartments

Visitors can explore the private and official chambers of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth in the imperial apartments inside Vienna's Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace in Vienna served as the residence and workplace of the imperial family until the end of the monarchy in 1918. The chambers of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth can be visited. The tour leads through 24 rooms, from the imperial staircase, through audience rooms and studies, to the living rooms and bedrooms of their majesties. Emperor Franz Joseph and "Sisi" lived here with their children and the entire court.

The rooms are in the Rococo style, with rich stucco work, magnificent chandeliers made from Bohemian crystal and tiled stoves made from ceramic. Highlights of the tour are the dressing-cum-exercise room and the bathroom of the empress. Sisi spent most of her time in the exercise room. Her day began here at six o'clock in the morning with the daily hairdressing ritual. The exercise equipment installed here, such as the wall bars, high bar and rings in the door frame, are still retained. The dining room with its opulently laid table is also impressive.

Sisi Museum

Beautiful and celebrated Empress Elisabeth has long since become a cult figure. The Sisi Museum in the Imperial Apartments of the Imperial Palace compares the myth and the facts. Among the highlights are numerous personal objects once owned by Elisabeth as well as the most famous portraits of the beautiful empress.

Elisabeth’s private life is at the center of the exhibition: her rebellion against court ceremony, her escape into a beauty cult, her obsession with being slim, athletic performance, and effusive poetry. The show focuses on Elisabeth's private life, her rebellion against the court ceremonial, her flight into beauty, sporting excellence, travel and rapturous poetry. From the carefree time as a young girl in Bavaria to the surprising engagement with the Austrian emperor to her 1898 assassination in Geneva, the museum shows the restless life of the legendary empress.

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien     (Art History Museum)

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) was built in 1891 near the Imperial Palace to house the extensive collections of the imperial family. With its vast array of eminent works and the largest Bruegel collection in the world, it is considered one of the most eminent museums in the world.

Numerous major art works of European art history, among them Raphael’s "Madonna in the Meadow," Vermeer’s "The Allegory of Painting," the Infanta paintings by Velazquez, masterworks by Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Titian and Tintoretto are housed in the paintings gallery. The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection contains fascinating treasures from mysterious cultures long past.