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Belvedere

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ScottytheBody
ScottytheBody
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Belvedere Palace

  • May 10, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Boomsie from Los Angeles, California
Belvedere Palace

We went to Belvedere mainly to visit the Õsterreiches Galerie. We have always enjoyed the paintings of Gustav Klimt, but hadn't yet seen any in person. It was a drizzly day and we took the U-Bahn to Südbahnhof. Walk across the street in front of the station and along Prinz-Eugen-Strasse on the right. The entrance to the Galerie is about a 10-minute walk from the station. We got there at 10:00 a.m., when it opened. There are numerous galleries, some with modern paintings, most with 19th and 20th Century art, but the main attraction for me was the Jugendstil exhibit. The famous Klimt painting, The Kiss, is absolutely beautiful in person. I had bought a Klimt calendar years ago and had some of the pictures framed. Seeing these paintings a few feet away gave them a brilliance that just doesn't show in the prints. The Galerie is in Upper Belvedere. The Palace is beautiful just to walk through. There is a Biedermeier collection here, too. The Sala Terrena, on the 2nd Floor, is a beautiful empty hall with frescoes on the walls and ceiling. You get a beautiful view of the gardens between Upper and Lower Belvedere from this room. While walking from the train station to Belvedere, we passed a restaurant called James Belushi Cafe. We thought we'd stop here on the way back and have lunch, but they were closed. Would love to have tried the food there and would love to know why it's called James Belushi. Tape recorders are available to rent.

From journal Catching a cold in Vienna

Editor Pick

The Belvedere Palaces

  • October 11, 2001
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Overlander from Muscat, Oman
The Belvedere Palaces

Set in the heart of Vienna, the Belvedere Palaces and their spacious parks are an impressive example of baroque architecture. The museums in the upper and lower palaces offer an excellent and comprehensive survey of Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present day. The 19th und 20th century collections also include a wealth of international art. In the Upper Belvedere you can see famous works by Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka, Renoir or Monet and appreciate a splendid view of Vienna's inner city. Medieval and baroque works of art are presented in the Lower Palace, where most rooms have been preserved in their original state.

The collections are housed in the Belvedere Palaces, which Lukas von Hildebrandt built between 1714 and 1723 as a summer residence for the military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy. After years of careful renovation, the palaces of the Upper and Lower Belvedere, together with their elegant parks, are once again a shining example of baroque art.

The famous Marble Hall in the Upper Palace is a place of great historical importance for Austria. It was here that in 1955 the foreign ministers of France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the USA and Austria signed the Austrian State Treaty, which ended the occupation of Vienna and Austria by the Four Powers, thereby saving the country from the agonies suffered by West Germany and West Berlin for so many years.

A Brief Biographical Note:
Prince Eugene of Savoy was a French aristocrat who went to Austria because he had been refused an officer's commission in the French military because of his diminuative height. A brilliant tactican, he rose quickly to be one of Austria's highest-ranking officers. Indeed, it was thanks to him that the Turks were finally defeated at Belgrade, thereby ending what was seen as an Islamic threat.

Beyond his military prowess, he was also a lover of art, music, and architecture. He commissioned von Hildebrandt, one of Austria's finest architects, to design the two Belvedere's, which represent the best examples of High Baroque in the country.

From journal Vienna -- A Breath of "Wiener Luft"

Editor Pick

Belvedere

  • February 3, 2001
  • Rated 4 of 5 by ScottytheBody from Atlanta, Georgia
Belvedere

Great museums in a super setting. This palace once housed Prince Eugene, now it is the home of Klimt and Biedrmeyer works as well as innumerable other art treasures.

The Belvedere also features a grand view of the city from it's large, open courtyard.

No doubt you will want to see the wonderful collection of the famous Secession-era paintings and artworks, including the over-exposed but no less wonderful The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.

The collections are housed in the Belvedere palaces, which Lukas von Hildebrandt built between 1714 and 1723 as a summer residence for the military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy. After years of careful renovation, the palaces of the Upper and Lower Belvedere, together with their elegant parks, are once again a shining example of baroque art.

The famous Marble Hall in the Upper Palace is a place of great historical importance for Austria. It was here that in 1955 the foreign ministers of France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the USA and Austria signed the Austrian State Treaty.

From journal Vienna: a Tough Nut to Crack, But Worth the Eff

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