Upper Belvedere

After our tour of Schonbrunn Palace and its Imperial Carriage Museum, Grace, Jandy, Cheska, Kyle, Vicky, Isko, Manny and I walked towards the nearby Wien Schonbrunn where we took the tram to Wien Karlsplatz.

The author (left foreground) at the Upper Belvedere

Upon arrival, we walked 600 m., from the Belvedere Palace entrance, to the Upper Belvedere where Grace, Jandy, Cheska and I were to explore Österreichische Galerie.  The others stayed behind with Kyle.

Check out “Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens,” Imperial Carriage Museum” and “Österreichische Galerie Belvedere”

The historic Upper Belvedere (Oberes Belvedere), one of two Baroque palaces (the other is the Lower Belvedere or Unteres Belvedere), is part of the palace complex (which also included the Orangery and the Palace Stables) built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, the commander-in-chief who had just successfully concluded a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire.

The Belvedere was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling Habsburg dynasty.

Here’s the historical timeline of the Upper Belvedere:

• On November 30, 1697, one year after commencing with the construction of the Stadtpalais, Prince Eugene purchased a sizable plot of land south of the Rennweg, the main road to Hungary. Plans for the Belvedere garden complex were drawn up immediately. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt was the chief architect for this project.
• As early as 1717, the construction of the Upper Belvedere began as testified by two letters that Prince Eugene sent from Belgrade to his servant Benedetti in summer 1718 describing the progress of work on the palace.
• By October 2, 1719, construction was so far advanced that the prince was able to receive the Turkish ambassador Ibrahim Pasha there.
• As early as 1718, the decoration of the interior started.
• In 1719, Prince Eugene commissioned the Italian painter Francesco Solimena to execute both the altarpiece for the Palace Chapel and the ceiling fresco in the Golden Room.
• In the same year, Gaetano Fanti was commissioned to execute the illusionistic quadratura painting in the Marble Hall.
• In 1720, Carlo Carlone was entrusted with the task of painting the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall, which he executed from 1721–23.
• In 1723, the building was completed.
• In the winter of 1732–33, as the Sala Terrena was at risk of collapsing due to structural problems, Hildebrandt was forced to install a nine-bay vaulted ceiling supported by four structural telamons, giving the room its current appearance.
• On April 21 1736, the childless Prince Eugene died in his City Palace in Vienna without a legally binding will. A commission, set up by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, named the prince’s niece Victoria (daughter of his eldest brother Thomas and the only surviving member of the house of Savoy-Soissons) as his heir.
• On July 6, 1736, Princess Victoria moved into the Belvedere, known at that point as the Gartenpalais.
• In November 1752, Maria Theresa, the daughter of Charles VI, purchased the estate from Princess Victoria.
• In 1776, Maria Theresa and her son, Emperor Joseph II, decided to transfer the u.k. Gemäldegalerie (“Imperial Picture Gallery”) from the Imperial Stables  (a part of the city’s Hofburg Imperial Palace) to the Upper Belvedere. Inspired by the idea of enlightened absolutism, her intention was to make the imperial collection accessible to the general public.
• In 1781, the picture gallery opened, making it one of the first public museums in the world.
• In 1891, the imperial collection was transferred to the newly built Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) on Vienna’s splendid Ringstrasse.
• In 1896, Emperor Franz Joseph I decided that the Upper Belvedere should serve as a residence for Franz Ferdinand, his nephew and the heir presumptive to the throne. Under the supervision of the architect Emil von Förster (also imperial undersecretary), the heir had the palace remodeled.
• In November 1918, shortly after the end of World War I, art historian Franz Haberditzl submitted a request to the Ministry of Education, asking for the palaces to be left to the Staatsgalerie. This application was granted the very next year.
• During World War II, the palaces suffered considerable damage. Parts of the Marble Hall in the Upper Belvedere and the Hall of Grotesques in the Lower Belvedere were destroyed by bombs.
• On February 4, 1953, after reconstruction work was completed, the Österreichische Galerie (Austrian Gallery) reopened in the Upper Belvedere.
• On May 15, 1955, the Austrian State Treaty (the treaty that gave Austria its independence back after the post-World War II occupation) was signed at the Marble Hall by Leopold Figl and representatives of the four occupying powers, England, France, the Soviet Union, and the USA.

One of 12 Rococo sphinxes

The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district of the city, on the south-eastern edge of its centre.  The grounds are set on a gentle gradient and include decorative tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures, and majestic wrought iron gates.

Sculpture of a man fighting with a horse

The Upper Belvedere is located at the top of the slope at the southern end of the park. It had a purely representative function and only contained reception halls and banquet halls.

Its exterior, especially the magnificent main façade, facing south, is much more impressive than the rather modest Lower Belvedere. The many sculptures that adorn the facade are a reference to Prince Eugene’s victory over the Turkish army and the rooftop structures are said to evoke tents at Turkish army camps.

Unfortunately little of the original interior, designed by French furniture maker Claude le Fort du Plessy, has been preserved since the building was actively used until the mid-twentieth century.

Originally, the main entrance was located on the south side of the Upper Belvedere and can still be recognized by its access ramps.

We entered the Upper Belvedere via the Sala Terrena, a large, brilliant white ground floor hall that opens onto to the garden side of the Upper Belvedere.

Atlas (Giovanni Giuliani)

It is dominated by four mighty atlases (atlantes), sculpted by Giovanni Giuliani, supporting the richly decorated, stuccoed vaulted ceiling of the room.

Initially, the Sala Terrena was designed as a uniform spacious hall but, after structural damage in the winter of 1732/33, the installation of the four supports became necessary.

Bas-relief

Serving both as the garden hall and vestibule, the hall led us to the huge, wide stone Grand Staircase with its stucco martial reliefs and giant iron-wrought lamps.

Grand Staircase

Lining the staircase are scenes from the life of Alexander the Great meant to inspire visitors to contemplate the virtuous deeds of Prince Eugene.

Wrought iron lamp

The right wall is adorned with a stucco relief depicting the triumph of Alexander the Great over Darius III, while on the left, Darius’s wives are depicted in front of Alexander.

Ecce Homo (Anton Hanak) at stairway gallery

Statue of Maria Theresia (Franz Xaver Messerschmidt)

Statue of Emperor Francis I (Franz Xaver Messerschmidt)

The magnificent Marble Hall, the Baroque state room and the central chamber of the Upper Belvedere, is the first room we encountered from the Grand Staircase.

Marble Hall

Open to the public, it reaches two stories in height and is dominated by reddish-brown marble, rich gilding, and a large, ornate ceiling fresco (“Prince Eugene as a new Apollo and Leader of the Muses”).

The ceiling fresco was created by northern Italian fresco master and itinerant artist Carlo Innocenzo Carlone (1686–1775) and framed by fake architectures by Marcantonio Chiarini (from Bologna) and Gaetano Fanti, two Italian painters who specialized in quadratura , an illusionistic technique based on perspective laws.

Prince Eugene as a new Apollo and leader of the Muses

These illusionist paintings add false galleries and niches to the architecture. The windows here gave us great views down to Lower Belvedere and let us properly grasp the layout of the main gardens.

The Carlone Hall (or Painted Hall), originally serving as a spot to cool off and socialize on hot summer days, was named after its creator Carlo Innocenzo Carlone who painted the impressive ceiling fresco depicting the “Triumphs of Aurora” (1722/23).

While walking round the Klimt part of the collection, we saw the small, octagonal Palace Chapel which is largely preserved in its original condition, as evidenced by a drawing by Salomon Kleiner from the 1830s. Mass is held here every Sunday at 12 noon

L-R: Isko, Kyle, Jandy, the author, Manny, Cheska and Grace

Upper Belvedere: Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43 1 795 57-0 and +43 1 79557134. Open: 10 AM -6 PM. E-mail: info@belvedere.at. Website:  www.belvedere.at. Admission (Upper Belvedere): €16 (adult).