Winter Palace of Prince Eugene AUSTRIA-VIENNA

Описание: The city or winter palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy in what is now Vienna's old town (walled until 1857) was the successful general's main residence. The majority of the landlord's famous collections were located here, including the exceptionally extensive library.

The city palace served primarily representative purposes. Prince Eugen held high-ranking functions in the Habsburg Monarchy - among other things, he was President of the Court War Council from 1703 to 1736 and formally governor of the Austrian Netherlands from 1714 to 1724. Therefore he had to give appropriate receptions and audiences.

In terms of urban planning, the palace is a special feature, as Prince Eugen did not choose a building site appropriate to his status - such as Herrengasse, which is closer to the Hofburg - for his residence, but rather the narrow, less spectacular Himmelpfortgasse, named after the Himmelpfort Monastery. After his arrival in Vienna, the successful general had no apartment of his own and lived in the house of his uncle, the then Spanish ambassador Carlo Emanuele d'Este
The magnificent staircase with figures by the sculptor Giovanni Giuliani

From autumn 2013 to October 2017, the state rooms of the building were part of the Austrian Gallery Belvedere under the name Winterpalais.

Historical function

The city or winter palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy in what is now Vienna's old town (walled until 1857) was the successful general's main residence. The majority of the landlord's famous collections were located here, including the exceptionally extensive library.

The city palace served primarily representative purposes. Prince Eugen held high-ranking functions in the Habsburg Monarchy - among other things, he was President of the Court War Council from 1703 to 1736 and formally governor of the Austrian Netherlands from 1714 to 1724. Therefore he had to give appropriate receptions and audiences.

In terms of urban planning, the palace is a special feature, as Prince Eugen did not choose a building site appropriate to his status - such as Herrengasse, which is closer to the Hofburg - for his residence, but rather the narrow, less spectacular Himmelpfortgasse, named after the Himmelpfort Monastery[4]. After his arrival in Vienna, the successful general had no apartment of his own and lived in the house of his uncle, the then Spanish ambassador Carlo Emanuele d'Este
The magnificent staircase with figures by the sculptor Giovanni Giuliani

From autumn 2013 to October 2017, the state rooms of the building were part of the Austrian Gallery Belvedere under the name Winterpalais.
The Winter Palace or City Palace was Prince Eugene's first magnificent building in Vienna. Only later did he achieve even greater splendor with the Lower and Upper Belvedere. The Winter Palace was built to its current size in three construction phases between 1697 and 1724.

In 1702 the building was taken over by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. With the purchase of another neighboring property in 1703, the next construction phase followed from 1708 to 1711, during which Hildebrandt significantly enlarged the palace and expanded it to twelve window axes. The second portal that was added now forms the left gate.[6] In this phase, several state rooms were built, especially the Gold Cabinet with an oil painting by Solimena as the center. Stonemasonry work was carried out here by the Kaiser quarry masters Giovanni Battista Passerini and Elias Hügel.
Ceiling in the Gold Cabinet
Official audience room with the ceiling fresco “Admission of Hercules to Olympus” by Marcantonio Chiarini and Louis Dorigny
Ceiling fresco in the state bedroom “Marriage of Hercules and Hebe” by Marcantonio Chiarini and Louis Dorigny

Around 1710, the house chapel and a gallery, which are no longer preserved, were installed. The central representation room, the so-called Blue Salon with frescoes by Marcantonio Chiarini and Louis Dorigny, also dates from this period.

With the third construction phase, which was preceded by the purchase of a new property in 1719, the magnificent building was expanded again in 1723/24 to now have 17 window axes. A library wing and a third portal, today's right gate, were also built. Stone carving work was again provided by Elias Hügel. Lorenzo Mattielli designed the gate reliefs and the decorative wall fountain in the courtyard.

During the last restoration, a sala terrena with grotesque paintings by Jonas Drentwett was discovered next to the vestibule. This room, which was used for filing files for decades, is not mentioned in the sources. However, since the medallion depicting the “Histoire” in the middle of the window wall also mentions “Höchstätt” (Second Battle of Höchstädt August 1704) among the battles fought by Prinz Eugen, the fresco can be dated to after 1704.
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