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Hofburg

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travel2000
travel2000
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Hofburg

  • November 29, 2000
  • Rated 3 of 5 by kylebarber from Seattle, Washington
Hofburg

Hofburg, or the Imperial Palace, is the imposing white building with the greenish domes. It housed all of Austria's emperors until this past century, and now serves as the office for the Austrian president. It is more popular today, however, for hosting the Spanish Riding school and Vienna Boys' Choir performances. You have to plan ahead to catch the boys or the horses do their thing, but there are numerous museums within the palace complex to entertain those who come across the Hofburg by happenstance.

From journal Austria: Vienna

Editor Pick

Treasury

  • October 30, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by travel2000 from New York, New York
Treasury

When my sister mentioned the Treasury, I had zero interest. I didn't want to spend my last morning in Vienna looking at jewelry. But I was completely immersed from the first room onwards. Try to arrive very early (opens 10am, closed Tue) or you will meet the chaos of tours. The recorded guide is included with the entry ticket-input the number of the display and the history will be given.

We saw royal crowns with the most intricate gold carvings, gems of unbelievable size and quality...best of all, there were paintings with the crowns worn on the heads of numerous states. (Crown of Charlemagne was one of them) There were also the official bedroom and crib of the Habsburgs, the most amazing embroideries of christening robes, coronation robes, shawls. There was the Agate bowl, this green transparent huge bowl from Constantinople and something called the Ainkhorn, which looks like a huge elephant's tusk. It was said to be of a unicorn (i think proven false!). There was a beautiful armoire which held the keys to various places where the remains of the Habsburgs were kept (they liked to spread themselves around the city-organs in a church, bodies somewhere else, that's a different story altogether). On the front of the cabinet, there was a small carving of Christ on the Cross, and it was the most beautiful, most fluid carving I have seen. It was carved from one piece of ivory. There are also many relics, like wooden pieces of the holy cross, part of the nail, and piece of the clothing from a saint...the list goes on. At the end, there were these amazing tapestries, it was just amazing. We alloted one hour but stayed more than two. I highly recommended stopping here.

From journal Wonderful Vienna

Editor Pick

Vienna Hofburg Orchestra

  • October 30, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by travel2000 from New York, New York
We were so disappointed we couldn't see the State Opera that we almost ignored the young men dressed as Mozart who approached us outside the Opera House. It was past noon and they were luring us with 'Tickets for tonight'...we were not interested! However, we started a conversation with one of them, a pharmacy student selling tickets as a side job. He showed us the palace hall, the program (Mozart, Strauss, soloists from the State Opera) as well as our student price (less than $20 each with free seating). We were sold. That night, we had the most wonderful time, excellent music, a bit of comedy skillfully woven in, and the most beautiful grand concert hall...it was like a dream. SO, if you can't get standing room at the opera (we were there on their night off) give those guys a try. Arrive early to get a good seat and you will not regret it! These ticket sellers are all dressed up and can be found outside the Opera House or places where lots of tourists can be found. There are different venues and orchestras-feel free to shop around. They are very friendly and are interesting to chat with.

From journal Wonderful Vienna

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