Last weekend a friend and I went to visit a palace in Vienna that I have wanted to see for a long time. It was one of those things where I kept saying, "eh, I'll do it next weekend," But now, after being here for 9 months, I've finally done it.
The palace is called the Belvedere Palace. The word 'belvedere' is of Italian origin and literally means 'fair view' or 'beautiful view', which fits this palace perfectly because not only is it incredibly beautiful, but the view from the top floor captures the majority of the city and can take your breath away. It is a baroque complex that was built by Prince Eugene of Savoy. It's original purpose was to serve as a suburban entertainment villa. The work began 1714 and what is now called the Lower Belvedere was finished in two years later in 1716. It was built as a garden villa, with an orangerie and paintings gallery, and also *suitable living quarters.
The Upper Belvedere was not built until 1720 and was only finished 3 years later. It was originally intended to only be a 'proper end' to the main garden, but was later enlarged to become the main summer residence of Prince Eugene. The Belvedere complex was sold to the empress Maria Theresa by the Prince's heiress in 1752. It was Maria Theresa who first called it the 'Belvedere'. In the Upper Belvedere there is a central 'Marmorsaal' (marble hall) which was the site of the signing the Austrian State Treaty that formed the modern Austria on May 15, 1955.
*they say 'suitable' with a high class snobby tone as if it means barely okay enough... when really each room is bigger than my house
No comments:
Post a Comment