Set-up for our party included putting our tables in the girls' bedrooms and moving the chairs along the walls. Then we have this little hutch thing on wheels that we turned so that it would be like a bar. Jeremy was the bartender for the evening (he does some for real on the side) so he took care of his little area behind the hutch. Then all we had to do was wait for everybody to show up. Since they got lost, it took a while. We had a good time, music was pretty ok and the people were nice. But around 12 we kicked them out and told them to go find a bar because we didn't want to annoy our landpeople, who live above us. And I made up a new drink, which I think is very tasty. Its amaretto and apple juice. And since we were out of orange juice, it worked out very nicely (I bought four liters of apple juice because it was on sale).
After our guests and most of the flatties had left, me, Alison, and Laura watched The Mummy 2, which was dubbed into German. I could follow parts of it, but I think it was more because I had seen it before and knew what the plot was than actually understanding all of the German that was spoken. And I realized what a cheesy movie it is. I mean, it's funny, but the budget must have been really small. So now I'm just sitting around, waiting for Matt to get home from dinner so I can talk to him on AIM. And since I have nothing better to do, I'll give you some info on the places I visited today.
Like I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I was kind of out of it during the lecture, just because I was tired, so I didn't get as much from that as I would have liked. But after the lecture we got on two buses and started our tour. First, we went around Ringstraße, which is is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria and is one of its main sights. It is typical of the historical style called Ringstraßenstil (Ringstraße Style) of the 1860s to 1890s.
The street was built to replace the city walls, which had been built during the 13th century and reinforced as a consequence of the First Turkish Siege in 1529, and instead of the glacis, which was about 500m wide. The fortification had been obsolete since the late 18th century, but the Revolution of 1848 was required to trigger a significant change.
In 1850, the Vorstädte (today the Districts II to IX) were incorporated into the municipality, which made the city walls a simple impediment to traffic. In 1857, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria issued his famous decree "It is My will" (Es ist Mein Wille at Wikisource) ordering the demolition of the city walls and moats. In his decree, he laid out the exact size of the boulevard, as well as the geographical positions and functions of the new building. The Ringstraße and the planned buildings were intended to be a showcase for imperial Habsburg grandeur and the glory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the practical level, Emperor Napoléon III of France already demonstrated with his boulevard-building in Paris how enlarging the size of the streets effectively made the erection of revolutionary barricades impossible.
Each of the famous buildings on the Ringstraße are built in a different style. Mostly, they fall into the neo- style range because they weren't built at the right times to be considered of the original style.Most buildings date back to the time before 1870. The most notable ones include:
- The K.u.K. Hofoper (now Vienna State Opera), in neo-romantic style by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll,
- the Akademie der bildenden Künste (Academy of Fine Arts),
- the Justizpalast (now Federal Ministry of Justice),
- the Parliament building, in neo-attic style (a reference to the democracy of ancient Athens) by Theophil Freiherr von Hansen,
- the Rathaus (Town Hall) in Flemish-gothic style by Friedrich Schmidt,
- the K.u.K. Hofburgtheater (now Burgtheater) by Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer,
- the University Building, in neo-renaissance style (a reference to the beginnings of the university system in northern Italy,
- the Votivkirche, in neo-gothic style (a reference to the gothic Cathedrals of France) by Heinrich Freiherr von Ferstel,
- the Börse (Stock Exchange),
- the Ringturm, modern 1950's style,
- the Urania observatory,
- the Kriegsministerium (now Regierungsgebäude), in neo-baroque style by Ludwig Baumann,
- the Postsparkasse (Postal Savings Bank), in Jugendstil by Otto Wagner,
- the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts) in neo-renaissance style by Heinrich Freiherr von Ferstel,
- the Palais Württemberg (now Hotel Imperial),
- the Ringstraßengalerien, also known as the Korso, in modern 1990s style.
The Hofburg was extended by an annex, the Neue Hofburg (New Hofburg), which houses the Museum of Ethnology and the Austrian National Library today. On the other side of the street, there are the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) and the Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History), which were built for the imperial collections. Originally, there should have been a parallel wing opposite the Neue Hofburg, which would have been attached to the Museum of Natural History. The Heldenplatz and the Maria-Theresien-Platz would have become the Kaiserforum. However, that plan was shelved for lack of funds.
The construction ended only in 1913 with the completion of the Kriegsministerium (Ministry of War). At that time, the Ringstraßenstil was already somewhat outdated, as is shown by the Postsparkassengebäude (Postal Savings Society Building) by Otto Wagner, which was built at the same time.
The Ringstraße was also generously planned with green areas and trees, the most notable parks being the Stadtpark with the Kursalon, Burggarten, Volksgarten, and Rathausplatz, as well as a number of squares such as the Schwarzenbergplatz, Schillerplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz and Heldenplatz. Dotted along the Ringstraße are various monuments. They include statues to Goethe, Schiller, Empress Maria Theresia, Prince Eugene of Savoy, Archduke Charles of Austria, the founders of the First Austrian Republic, Athena, Andreas von Liebenberg, Count Radetzky, Georg Coch, and Johann Strauß amongst many.
The biggest catastrophe was the fire of the Ringtheater in 1881, in which several hundred people died. It was subsequently demolished and replaced with the Sühnhof, which was built in memory of the more than 300 victims, and inaugurated by Emperor Franz Joseph. It was destroyed during the bombing of Vienna in 1945; today the municipal police-headquarters is there.
Other buildings that were destroyed or heavily damaged during World War II was the Opera, the opposite building Heinrichshof which was replaced in the 50's with the Kärtnerhof. The Urania observatory, the Kriegsministerium and the Parliament building were heavily damaged, and the Burgtheater burned down. The famous Metropol Hotel, which was located at the Franz-Joseph-Kai, was completely destroyed and replaced with a monument to the victims of Nazism.
Our next stop on the tour was Schloss Belvedere. The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere is one of the world's most important museums with collections spanning from the Middle Ages to the present day. The museum is housed in the Belvedere Palace, which Prince Eugene of Savoy had built as a summer residence. There are two palace buildings: the Upper and Lower Belvedere. The collections of the 19th and 20th centuries are housed in the Upper Belvedere with works by Biedermeier artists (e.g. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Jakob Alt etc.), French Impressionists (e.g. Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir) and masterpieces by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. In the Lower Belvedere the Museum of Medieval Art and the Baroque Museum are located. The two buildings are linked by a unique Baroque garden. The entire ensemble ranks among the world's most beautiful and best preserved historic palaces and parks. From the north side of the Upper Belvedere one can appreciate the renowned and stunning view of Vienna.
Lower Belvedere
In 1714 the Austrian general Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), who was a famous marshall in the Hapsburg army, commissioned the architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt (1668-1745) to build the Lower Belvedere. The palace was completed just two years later in 1716. Today, the former living quarters and staterooms of this Baroque summer residence are still an impressive sight. Attractions include the Marble Hall - adorned with frescos by Martino Altomonte (1659-1745) - the state bedroom, Hall of Grotesques and the Marble Gallery. The Lower Belvedere also incorporates the orangery and palace stables, formerly used for the prince's horses.
Upper Belvedere
In 1717, the decision was made to build the Upper Belvedere. Construction took place between 1721 and 1722 and the interior decoration was completed the following year. The garden palace primarily served the purpose of pomp and display. This is reflected in the elegant sala terrena (today the entrance hall), the grand staircase, the magnificent Marble Hall, rooms sumptuously embellished with stucco and frescos (frescos by Carlo Carlone [1686-1775], ceiling paintings by Giacomo del Pò) and the chapel with the exquisite altarpiece by Francesco Solimena (1657-1747).
Both palaces, which are masterpieces of Baroque architecture, were connected by a symmetrical garden based on French and Italian examples. With its many garden sculptures, fountains, zoo, orangery (today the Museum of Medieval Art), greenhouses for exotic plants and a large volière the park was one of the most lavish and elaborate European gardens of the 18th century.
The Upper Belvedere was where our tour was. There was some constuction on the gardens between the Upper and Lower sections, but it was amazing. Also, because of the strong winds we had here a couple of days ago, it looked like one of the sculptures from the roof had fallen to the pavement below, and was blocked off with caution tape.
The Belvedere after Prince Eugene
1736-1764
In 1752 Empress Maria Theresia acquired the palace from the prince's heiress. Her father, Emperor Karl VI, had already purchased the valuable library and graphic collection just after Prince Eugene died. At this time the antique sculptures from Prince Eugene's famed art collection were sold to Dresden, the painting collection to Turin. It was under Maria Theresia that the palace was first named "Belvedere". For a long time the buildings were hardly used. Then, in 1764, the imperial "Arcierenleibgarde", a military guard, moved into the Lower Belvedere, where they had their headquarters until the end of the Habsburg monarchy.
In 1919 the palace passed into the possession of the Republic of Austria. In 1944 and 1945, at the end of World War II, both the Upper and Lower Belvedere were badly damaged in air-raids.
1955 was a historic year for Austria. In the Upper Belvedere's Marble Hall the foreign ministers of the Allied Powers - the Soviet Union, United States of America, France and England - and the Austrian foreign minister, Leopold Figl, signed the Austrian State Treaty. This prepared for the withdrawal of the occupying powers and restored to Austria its independence and neutrality.
Next, we went to see the Hundertwasserhaus. The Hundertwasser House Vienna (German Hundertwasserhaus Wien) is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. This landmark of Vienna is located in the 3. district, Kegelgasse 34-38 / Löwengasse 41-43, at .
The house was built between 1983 and 1986 by architects Univ.-Prof. Joseph Krawina and Peter Pelikan. It features undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. Hundertwasser took no payment for the design of the house, declaring that it was worth it, to prevent something ugly from going up in its place.
Within the house there are 52 apartments, four offices, 16 private terraces and three communal terraces, and a total of 250 trees and bushes.I think the house was interesting to look at, but I think that if I were the builder of it, I would have wanted to rip my hair out. Every single window in there was a diffent size or style. There were different colors and textures throughout, and it is the most un-Viennese building I have seen here, which is probably why it's so famous. But you can see other examples of Hunderwasser's work throughout the city, usually outside the first district. One of the pictures I took was of a horse statue that is done in his style, but I don't think was designed by him.
After crossing the Danube into the more modern section of Vienna, we turned around and starting driving toward the Alps. One a side note, there is only one small highrise in all of historic Vienna, and that was built by an insurance company before the city was protected UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. All of the other modern buildings are across the Danube, which we saw when we turned around. The UN has a complex on that side of the river, and there are only three places in the world that the UN has offices. They are New York City, Geneva, and Vienna.
Our drive this time was a bit longer than the others had been, and I started getting a bit sleepy. Once we got to the mountain though, it wasn't a good idea to be sleeping because of the switchbacks -- I probably would have fallen out of my seat. From the Kahlenberg, which is in the Viennese Forest, we could see all of Vienna with the Alps in the distance. I didn't realize how big it actually was, since I spend most of my time in the first district or in the apartment. But the view was incredible. We took a lot of pictures up there, and I made sure I had my camera strap around my arm, just in case. There was also a small church up there. It was visited by Pope John Paul II on one of his visits to Vienna.
To get to and from the mountain, we had to pass through Ginzing, which is in the 19th district. This part of the city is very ritzy and touristy. Consequently, the rent is high and poor people like students can't afford to spend too much time there. But it was incredibly quaint and very picturesque. Beethoven had several apartments in this area of Vienna back in his day. I believe that he composed the 5th symphony here.
On the way back to the Opera, our tour guide mentioned that there was a ball next Thursday at the Rathaus (Town Hall) which is held for students in the technical university. Since she is an alum and knows people in the University, she sent around a sign-up sheet to see how many people would be interested in getting discounted tickets. Usually, they're around 45 Euro, but she thinks she may be able to get them for 25. So of course, I signed up. :-) There should be some younger people at this ball, since she said there were several tables for Fullbright students. I suppose we'll find out this Thursday!
Und das ist alles! Liebe,
Amanda
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