Discover Vienna: Belvedere Palace; the Klimt collection

by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani 619 views

ESCToday in collaboration with Vienna Tourist Board (Wien.info) will be bringing you a series of articles leading up to the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in order to showcase and introduce the 2015 Eurovision host city Vienna to our readers. Today we will have a look at the Belvedere Palace featuring the Klimt Collection, Upper and Lower Belvedere.

The Belvedere Palace and its gardens along with the Klimt collection are among the most sought after and popular attractions Vienna has to offer. You will be mesmerised by the beauty and magnificence of the Baroque architecture the palace has to offer. Whilst the beautiful gardens and fountains of Belvedere will enchant you with their beauty and grandeur.

The Belvedere houses the internationally acclaimed Klimt’s paiting The Kiss. If you are an art lover and connoisseur you will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

The Belveder Palace complex

Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), successful general and art connoisseur, had Belve-dere garden palace built by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as his summer residence – at the time it was still outside the gates of the city. This baroque architectural jewel consists of two palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere), which today house Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Upper Belvedere – world’s largest Klimt collection

At the heart of the collections at the Belvedere are the works of Gustav Klimt with his golden paintings The Kiss and Judith. The masterpieces by Schiele and Kokoschka as well as works of French Impressionism and highlights of the Vienna Biedermeier era (Waldmüller, Amerling, Fendi) that you will see here are every bit as impressive as the paintings of Makart, Boeckl, Wotruba, Hausner, Hundertwasser and others.

Masterworks of late Gothic art like the Znaim Altar, works by Michael Pacher, Rueland Frueauf the Elder and Conrad Laib are also on display here, along with lavish works of art dating from the baroque age. Significant works by Johann Michael Rottmayr, Daniel Gran and Paul Troger give a fascinating insight into the wealth of these times. The grimacing character heads by the sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt are also very emotive.

Lower Belvedere – Prince Eugene’s apartments and staterooms

The feudal splendor of the palace’s aristocratic owner is reflected in the Hall of Grotesques, the Marble Gallery, and the Golden Room. Intriguing special exhibitions are staged in the Lower Belvedere and the Orangery.

Palace stables – Medieval Study Collection

The stables once housed the prince’s 12 finest horses: today you will find the Belvedere’s entire medieval art collection here.

You can find more information on the Belvedere complex here, the schedule and ticket price list here. The Upper Belvedere is located at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27 , 1030 Vienna, whilst the Lower Belvedere is located at Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna.

For more information on Vienna you can visit Wien.info and for the latest news on ESC 2015 in Vienna  ORF’s Eurovision website in German.

You can follow our forthcoming series of Discover Vienna articles with photographs and videos on ESCToday.com and on our official Esctoday Instagram and ESCToday Facebook pages.

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