BELVEDERE PALACE
This sublime Baroque castle houses one of the country's finest collections, including Klimt's famous Kiss .
One of Vienna's architectural jewels, the Belvedere Palace's monumental façade marks the cityscape and dominates the skyline, like a magnificent Baroque castle. It is the perfect setting for one of Austria's richest collections, featuring major works by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. This grandiose architectural ensemble comprises two buildings, the Upper and Lower Belvedere, linked by a formal garden. The palace was commissioned in 1723 by Prince Eugene of Savoy as his summer residence, and was built by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, who, along with Fischer von Erlach, was a champion of the Baroque period. Originally, the Upper Belvedere was intended primarily for prestige and exhibition purposes. On the death of Prince Eugene, the Habsburgs acquired it and transformed it into an imperial gallery. The painting collection was then transferred from the Stallburg to the Upper Belvedere, where it was displayed to the public. Until 1914, the castle was the residence of Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand. Here, in 1955, the Allies and the Austrian state signed the famous "Staatsvertrag", marking the beginning of the Second Austrian Republic and the withdrawal of the occupying troops.
The Upper Belvedere is more Baroque than the Lower Belvedere. From the large marble hall, the view over the gardens is magnificent. Well thought-out and well appointed, this Belvedere houses the largest collection of Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present day, complemented by works by foreign artists including Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Max Beckmann. The museum is also home to Klimt's famous Kiss and several masterpieces by Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. Interwar and postwar art is presented on the second floor.
The lower Belvedere and the former orangery host high-quality temporary exhibitions of Austrian art in an international context, in line with the mission defined in 1903. The Belvedere gardens are a Mecca of Baroque landscape design. The Alpine Garden in the castle grounds is the oldest in Europe. While the Upper Belvedere was reserved for performances, the Lower Belvedere was the prince's actual place of residence.
Added to this is Belvedere 21, the original pavilion for the 1958 World's Fair, dedicated to Austrian art of the 20th and 21st centuries. This space is particularly renowned for its screenings of contemporary film creations.
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