Hofburg, Vienna

Favorite thing: The glorious history of Habsburgian times come alive in the Hofburg. Here the museums Silverkammer (Silver treasury) and Kaiser appartments (the empirial chambers) show the incredable wealth that surrounded the Habsburg emperors. In the Things to do Tips more about these museums, as well as on the website Hofburg museum: www.hofburg-wien.at

Favorite thing: Visit the Imperial Palace (Hofburg), the residence of the Habsburg emperors until 1918. The palace was originally a medieval castle of which only the chapel has survived to this day. Today, the Imperial Palace houses the offices of the Austrian president, an international convention center, the chapel, the riding hall where the Lipizzan stallions of the Spanish Riding School perform, various official and private apartments and several museums and state rooms which are open to the public. The New Palace (Neue Burg) is the most recent and most monumental section of the Imperial Palace.

www.hofburg-wien.at

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Favorite thing: The Hofburg is a city within a city: it's where the royal palace used to be and - basically - it's the royal quarter. Here you can see, one next to the other, several sights of interest. The best knows is the winter palace of the royal familt, but the Hoburg is much more than this.

Fondest memory: The Hofburg is also several museums, a chapel, a church, the national Library and the place where the Spanish horse-riding school is located. What I liked about it most is the architecture: there are some really fine examples of several styles - which are among the best one can see. Six hundred years of monarchy have obviously left an evidence trace, here.

Favorite thing: The square is situated between Fine Arts and Nature Museum and in the centre of the square is a large statue depicting Empress Marie-Theresa of Austro-Hungaria, namesake of the square. The square was laid in 1819.

Favorite thing: For more than seven centuries, the great empire of the Habsburgs was ruled from the Imperial Palace. Today, the Gothic Imperial Chapel, is a remnant of the Imperial Palace during the Middle Ages. In the center of the old city, you can admire the splendor and magnificence of the daily life of the noblest family of the Habsburg monarchy when you visit the private apartments and state rooms. Numerous museums and collections represent the imperial family?s passion for art. Originally a medieval fortified castle dating from the 13th century, the Hofburg was extended by each emperor, eventually coming to resemble a 'city within a city'. The sprawling, asymmetric complex which extends over 240,000 m? consists of 18 wings, 19 courtyards and 2,600 rooms in which nearly 5,000 people still work and live today.

Favorite thing: People, would you belive that this square was used to be a race? Emperor Maximillian II used it on this purpose around 1525. Funny man :) probably if he would live now there should be a formula ring.... but seriously...
The inner square of castle Hofburg was later used as the hall where cultural and social events took place. Nowadays there is a parking lot and in the middle of it is the monument dedicated to emperor Franz II from the year 1846 where is engraved a part of his testament: "My love to my nations".

Favorite thing: actually it is just the entrance of this church but I really liked that...
Michaelenkirche is a salvatorian church and it used to be the main funeral church of the famous Austrian personalities. Nowadays it is also the cultural center. The church itself stands here probably from 13th century simultaneosly with the old castle of Hofburg. Time to time there were renovations and enlargements and in 1792 there appeared also the sculpture "Falling of angels" from Lorenzo Matielli.
In the underground there are around 250 of wooden, metal or stoned coffins. As a rarity there you can see the dead pregnant woman and the sillhouettes of her baby inside. Maybe a little morbid but it is part of the history because as I said it was used for burials and funerals.

Favorite thing: The Prunksaal (Memorial hall) of the National Library is a must-see for all book-lovers, perhaps the most brilliantly executed Baroque library in the world. It was designed by the ubiquitous Viennese architect Johann Fischer von Erlach during the reign of Emperor Charles VI in the early 18th century. It's a bibliophile's heaven - a palace for books. (If I close my eyes, I can recapture in my mind's nose that wonderful smell of old mauscripts.) There are usually exhibits here displaying some of the library's most treasured possessions. My poor camera could not possibly capture the splendour of the Prunksaal, so this is actually a postcar image.

Fondest memory: The entrance to the Prunksaal is at the Karlsplatz, just beyond the equestrian statue of Joseph II.