BELVEDERE PALACE

The Belvedere's collections cover the period from the Middle Ages to contemporary art. This is the place to come to see Klimt's most beautiful collection. This magnificent architectural ensemble consists of two buildings, the Upper and Lower Belvedere, connected by a rigorously classical formal garden that unfortunately could not be preserved in its original form. The palace, designed as a summer residence, was originally commissioned in 1721 by Prince Eugene of Savoy, a brilliant military strategist, and built by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, another baroque magician along with Fisher von Erlach. After the death of the prince, the Habsburgs bought the palace, which was a bit of a shadow to them. Until 1914, the castle was the residence of Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, who was assassinated in Sarajevo. At the top of the stairs in the main hall is the room where, in 1955, the Allies and the representatives of 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, which overlooks the city, was originally used for receptions: it is much more baroque than the Lower Belvedere and is very ornate. From the large marble hall, the view of the gardens is breathtaking. The first floor of the Upper Belvedere regularly hosts temporary exhibitions. Along the first staircase, a statue by Aristide Maillol, La République, represents a very robust woman to pay tribute to Louis Auguste Blanqui who was sentenced to thirty years in prison for his political ideas. The second floor of the Haut Belvédère houses a gallery of paintings by international artists from the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century: from historicism to the French impressionists, through the great expressionists: Kokoschka, Kandinsky, Makart, Romako, Lehmden. The most beautiful part is dedicated to Viennese art around 1900 with the artists of the Secession (Schiele...) and their leader: Klimt. On the second floor, the Biedermeier period, classicism and romanticism are honored.
The lower Belvedere, which opens onto the Rennweg, is of an older design. It houses the Museum of Baroque Art in a decor that is no less baroque: trompe l'oeil paintings (Fanti) and frescoes on the ceilings. Altomonte painted the fresco entitled the Apotheosis of Prince Eugene, probably one of the most beautiful of the whole, glorifying the master of the place. The list of artists who collaborated in the decoration of the interiors reminds us that the Italian masters were also subjects of the Emperor. The visitor finds a succession of beautiful rooms, each designed and decorated by a different master. Among the works on display are those of Donner and Maulbertsch, as well as the collection of sculpted bronze caricatures by Messerschmidt, a Bavarian by birth. In the Orangery Wing is the Museum of Austrian Medieval Art with its numerous religious works: altarpieces, wood paintings and church triptychs.