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	Hofburg: Michaelerkirche	Tip Rating:

Updated By Skipka

on March 19, 2004

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michaelerkirche

by Skipka
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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.

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	Hofburg: Ancient Roman walls	Tip Rating:

Updated By Fam_Stoica

on March 21, 2003

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Ancient Roman walls, Vienna

by Fam_Stoica, 3 more photos
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The present Vienna was a Roman town called Vindobona. At the end of the 1st century the 13th and later the 14th Legion built frontier fortifications, whereby Vienna was one of many military camps, which were built along the Danube and joined with a street and a barrier, the so-called Limes.

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	Hofburg: Michaelerplatz - Labors of Hercules	Tip Rating:

Updated By yooperprof

on September 11, 2003

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Gods and Monsters

by yooperprof
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Lorenzo Mattielli (1688-1748) created four monumental sculptures of the Labors of Hercules to adorn the central gateway from Michaelerplatz into the heart of the Hofburg Complex. (Mattielli also created the sculptural grouping on the facade of St. Michael's Church opposite - see the photo on my Michaelerkirche page.) I'm not sure which of the Labors this figure is meant to represent - could it be Hercules' battle with the Hydra? Incidentally, one of Hercules' adventures reportedly brought him north from Greece up to the Danube River. In 18th century iconography, the Habsburg Dynasty often identified itself with the great Hercules - or rather, the Habsburgs wished to be associated with the great fearless hero.

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	Hofburg: Hofburg	Tip Rating:

Updated By lmkluque

on September 29, 2002

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by lmkluque
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A Complex collection of buildings that take up about 59 acres and since almost every ruler made additions, you can see represented many styles such Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo. Classicism and the style of the early 1870’s. Until 1918 this was the seat of government.

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	Hofburg: Take a walk	Tip Rating:

By blaird

on March 4, 2003

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by blaird
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We did quite a bit of walking when we were in Vienna. While we U-Bahn-ed it to St Stephens, we walked for miles afterwards. The architecture is beautiful along the way. As we walked towards the Hofburg we were amazed at the orante scultures all around and teh beautiful churches. Find a map and take a walk, it's the best way around.

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	Hofburg: Hofburg	Tip Rating:

By bugulma

on March 1, 2006

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Hofburg

by bugulma
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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.

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	Hofburg: Heldenplatz	Tip Rating:

By bugulma

on March 1, 2006

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Heldenplatz

by bugulma
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Place for getting parades in Habsburg times. It is one of the biggest squares in Europe and besides with wonderful view on Hofburg, to the part of Ringstrasse as well as to Maria-Theresian Platz.

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	Hofburg: Maria Theresien Platz	Tip Rating:

By bugulma

on March 1, 2006

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Monument

by bugulma
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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.

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	Hofburg: National Library - Prunksaal	Tip Rating:

Updated By yooperprof

on September 11, 2003

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books do furnish a room

by yooperprof
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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.

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

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