Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
Welcome to Prince Eugene of Savoy’s summer “cottage.” In the minds of its creators, it was regarded as the Mt. Olympus of Vienna. The Belvedere was built in the early 18th century by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, the architect of Graz’s Mariahilferkirche and rival of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Flushed
Lower Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
The Lower Belvedere is just as magnificent as the Upper Belvedere, and often hosts temporary exhibitions that are far more interesting than the permanent collection. In 2015, for example, the curators had amassed a ton of information on the Congress of Vienna. Jacques-Louis David’s gobsmacking portrait of Napoleon Crossing the
Upper Belvedere, Vienna, Austria 1
The Upper Belvedere houses the Belvedere Museum, where Austrian art mixes with grand state rooms. Like the Louvre, you’re liable to run into a mass of people standing around one famous painting – in this case, Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. To tell you true, I think you’ll find better art (and
Karlskirche, Vienna, Austria 1
The Karlskirche (“St. Charles Church”) could be called Fantasia on Imperial Majesty. In A.D. 1713, riding high on the retreat of the Turkish threat and his new position as Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI decided to build a church for his patron saint, the fanatically anti-Protestant St. Charles Borromeo. Plague
Karlskirche, Vienna, Austria 2
Although he never lived to see the Karlskirche finished, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach can’t have been too unhappy. For this is the man who created the Austrian National Library, the Schloss Klessheim, the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, and the Collegiate Church in Salzburg. Born in Graz
Column, Karlskirche, Vienna, Austria 1
Carved by the sculptor Lorenzo Mattielli, the columns on either side of the Karlskirche are modeled on Trajan’s Column in Rome. They also echo the columns, Boaz and Jachim, that stood guard at Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The swirling relief depicts scenes from the life of St. Charles Borromeo, to