In Vienna, the majestic Belvedere Palace - Schloss Belvedere - has just celebrated the tercentenary of the construction of the Upper Belvedere. Until February 2024, a major exhibition pays tribute to this longevity, revealing the eventful history of the museum and its famous 8-century-old collections, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

A site dedicated to art for 300 years

It was Prince Eugène of Savoy (1663-1736), a brilliant general in the service of the Austrian monarchy and a great lover of art, who had the Belvedere garden palace built for his summer residence at the gates of the city, a complex of two castles: the Upper Belvedere and the Lower Belvedere. Construction of the Upper Belvedere was completed in 1723. After Prince Eugène's death, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) acquired it. In 1777, Maria Theresa opened the Pinacoteca in the Upper Belvedere, where she exhibited the imperial collections, creating one of the world's first public museums.

At the end of the 19th century, it was the main residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination sparked off the First World War. The Marble Hall of the Palace witnessed the ratification of the Austrian State Treaty (1955). In the Orangery, the 300th anniversary exhibition of the Upper Belvedere examines the building's varied roles and its enduring commitment to art, education and research. We learn how the circulation of objects was affected by political entanglements, tackling looted art and restitutions.

Cranach's Belvedere collection at Export

The Upper Belvedere is home to the world's largest collection of Klimt works, including the masterpieces The Kiss and Judith, as well as major works by Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, and numerous examples of Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the modern era, making up a prestigious collection. The permanent exhibition was redesigned in early 2023 under the title "Schau! Die Sammlung Belvedere von Cranach bis EXPORT", which translates as "Look! Die Sammlung Belvedere von Cranach bis EXPORT" (Look! The Belvedere Collection from Cranach to EXPORT), presented in the sumptuous rooms of the Upper Belvedere, including a number of new items and works from the archives. Key works from the Middle Ages and the Baroque period are on show, and icons of Viennese modernism rub shoulders with masters such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Auguste Rodin. 400 works retrace 800 years of art history.

The new "Golden Spring" exhibition pays tribute not only to artists and their work, but also to the interaction between art and society. Self-portraits, presentation of production conditions at different periods, influence of the political and social context... We see how artists have marked their time and become its messengers.

In the Lower Belvedere: Louise Bourgeois

The Belvedere's commemorative year devotes another major exhibition to the early pictorial work of Franco-American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010), mother of the feminist avant-garde. Until January 28, 2024, and for the first time in Europe, an exhibition will show her work from the 1940s. Housed in the baroque galleries of the Lower Belvedere, the exhibition contrasts this seminal period with a selection of sculptures, installations, drawings and prints representing the different periods of her rich career. The exhibition demonstrates the extent to which Louise Bourgeois' multi-faceted work expresses contradictory impulses and binary oppositions - figuration and abstraction, masculine and feminine, conscious and unconscious. In the 1990s, this committed and atypical artist gained worldwide renown for her monumental spider sculptures. But it was in her oil paintings between 1938 and 1949, expressing thematic preoccupations, that she continued to explore over the following six decades.

And an imperial Christmas market

The market on Town Hall Square is Vienna's oldest, inaugurated in 1278 when Rudolf I of Habsburg authorized two annual fairs. But the Christmas market, which takes place from mid-November to the end of December in front of the Belvedere Palace, is certainly the most elegant and romantic of Vienna's markets. It is followed by the Belvedere Advent Market. Here you'll find tasty culinary specialities. In addition to the baroque architecture of the Palace, which you can admire from the aisles of the Christmas market, you can also admire the magnificent gardens of the Belvedere. A good Christmas market, the Belvedere distills a magical, festive atmosphere, with glittering decorations, the scent of cinnamon and mulled wine, and artisan stalls vying with each other for objects, jewels and sweets, like so many temptations and promises of happiness.

FUTURE INFO

When's the event?

-300 years of the Belvedere at the Orangerie until February 25, 2024.

-Louise Bourgeois at the lower Belvedere until January 28, 2024.

-Belvedere Christmas Market November 17/December 26. New Year's Eve Village December 27/31.

-Opening hours Upper Belvedere and Scholsscafé: daily 9am-6pm.

-Lower Belvedere and Parkcafé: daily 10am-6pm.

-Belvedere 21: Tuesday to Sunday 11am-6pm.

Duration

-Allow a full day, with a morning devoted to visiting the Lower Belvedere, lunch at one of the two on-site restaurants, then an afternoon devoted to visiting the Upper Belvedere.

-You'll return another day for the Orangerie exhibition and, if possible on the same day, the contemporary art exhibitions at Belvedere 21. In between, a stroll through the gardens will be appreciated.

Audience

-For visitors who appreciate the magnificence of the Baroque, the richness of the museums and, for Belvédère 21, the contemporary art.

-The exhibitions are accessible to disabled visitors.

Plus

+ Audioguide in French.

+ 15% discount on online tickets.

+ On-site stores, bars and restaurants.

Minus

- No written commentary in French.

- Belvedere 21 closes on Mondays. You'll have to choose your day of visit accordingly if you buy a group ticket.

- You'll need to sign up for a timetable to visit the upper Belvedere.

Useful

UPPER BELVEDERE

Upper Belvedere ticket €17.70 in high season and €16.70 in low season, over 65s and under 26s €14.40, disabled €4, under 19s free.

LOWER BELVEDERE

Adults €15.60, over 65 and under 26 €11.90, Vienna City Card €14.10, under 19 free.

BELVEDERE 21

Adults €9.30, over 65 and under 26 €6.90, Vienna City Card €7, disabled €3, under 19 free.