|
 | Vienna Hofburg Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 272 |  |
 | |  |  | Hofburg: Hofburg - Kunsthistorisches Museum - Paintings | Tip Rating:  |  |  | |  |
As one of the most important art museums of Europe the "Kunsthistorisches Museum" has no specific site on the Vienna "things to do" I will join my comment on the KHM to the Hofburg site as it is located in one of the imperial palaces close to that Hofburg. The gallery of paintings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum results from the project of a private imperial collection and is the reflection of the taste of the various member collectors of the dynasty of Habsburg, mainly the emperor Rodolphe II and the archdukes Ferdinand II and Leopold Guillaume. This archduke is the greatest paint collector of his 17th century. Thanks to him the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna became a museum of an essential importance as regards the Flemish and Venetian Schools. One will notice that this collection is geographically limited to the countries which had narrow links with the Habsburg i.e. Germany, the South of Netherlands (Belgium) the North of Italy and Spain but that France and Holland, with whom Austria had tense relations, are only weakly represented. It would be vain to review the painters and the works of this grand collection of the 15th to the 18th centuries. The collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder is unequalled and is worth by itself the journey to Vienna. Furthermore there are Van der Weyden, Dürer, Jordaens, Rubens, Van Dyck, Titien, Tintoret, Veronese, Canaleto, Velasquez and many others. One of my favourite paintings, besides the Bruegels, is the" Allegorie of Painting" of Vermeer who was acquired in 1945. I find extraordinary that sixty years ago one could still buy a Vermeer! Directions: close to the Neue Burg and Hofburg.Website: www.khm.at
|
 | |  |
| | | | Hofburg: Hofburg - Kunsthistorisches Museum - P. Bruegel | Tip Rating: | | | | |
For all amateurs of Pieter Bruegel the Elder the room X of the Paint gallery at the KHM, located in one of the imperial palaces near the Hofburg, is an absolute must. The museum has 14 paintings of P. Bruegel the Elder, i.e. the third of his paintings known about the world! Among these 14 some of the most remarkable as The Tower of Babel, The Fight of Carnival and Lent, the Peasants Dance, The Peasant Wedding and especially the most beautiful, the purest, the most intense of the works of P. Bruegel " Hunters in the Snow" To go to Vienna without having seen Bruegel it is as going to Paris without seeing La Joconde in Le Louvre. But contrary to the room of the Louvre with Mona Lisa, visitors are not bumping into each other in room X of the KHM of Vienna. A relation having visited the KHM asked me (it was the time of the action in justice against the Austrian State about the Klimt's) if Belgium, which has only six P. Bruegel the Elder, did not wish the return of the Bruegel's to Brussels where the painter lived and died (1569). I would certainly like to see more Bruegel's in the Museum of the Fine Arts in Brussels but these paintings were offered by the city of Antwerp to the archduke Ernest in 1594, the others were bought in total legality. Furthermore if Belgium began demanding the return of all the works of the Flemish painters worldwide she would not have enough walls to hang them on and numerous museums in the world would have empty rooms. And last but not least, numerous persons worldwide know Belgium only by her painters. Let the Bruegel's stays in Vienna, it is a pleasure to see them in a beautiful surrounding such as the KHM and the town of Vienna. Directions: Near the Neue Burg and Hofburg.Website: www.khm.at
|
| | |
| | | | Hofburg: Imperial Palace Blues | Tip Rating:  | | | | |
Of all the sights in Vienna, the one which I was a little disappointed in was probably The Hofburg. The words Imperial Palace set up a big expectation factor and really, when push comes to shove, a lot of the complex is not particularly grand or exciting. Admittedly the entrance from Michaelerplatz is stunning but inside it's quite a different kettle of fish. Der Burg, the central courtyard is much like a courtyard in any monastery or large establishmnet. Well maybe you wouldn't find quite so many monumental statues in the average courtyard, but after the first 20 or so giant Hapsburg statues you are inclined to take them for granted.This was something I found most intriguing about Vienna, the fact that even if you'd never heard of the Hapsburgs before, after three days or so, you are thinking of Maria Teresa, Franz Ferdinand, Joseph 11 etc as close acquaintances, if not friends. From Augustinerkirche past the Spanish Riding School and the Burgcapelle is all very tame. Inside you can visit The Imperial Apartments and The Treasury but just passing by is certainly not going to overstimulate you. On the other hand, what I liked very much about Hofburg was the way you could wander freely through it and how after two days you were using it as a shortcut to the Ringstrasse. It just became part of the everyday fabric of the city to me and that has to be a plus in anybody's book. In the contacts section I have not listed phone numbers as there are just so many. But if you look up the website you will get all the necessary details, opening hours for the different attractions, admission prices etc. Website: www.hofburg.vienna.info
|
| | |
|
|
Vienna
on October 11, 2007
on November 1, 2005
on October 8, 2004
on January 1, 2007
