Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Neoclassicism & Revivalism - Back to the Future
Walk around the Ringstrasse of Vienna today, admire the Burgtor (Palace Gate) fronting
the Hofburg on its southwest side and dating from the early 19th century, the Neue Burg
(New Palace) from the late 19th century, or the parliament building designed by the Dane
Theophil von Hansen (1813-91) and you may feel as though you have been cast into an
idealised version of ancient Greece or Rome. In Innsbruck, the 1765 Triumphpforte (Tri-
umphal Arch) is an early work of neoclassicism in Austria and creates a similar impres-
sion.
In Austria, the love of all things classical or revivalist moved into full swing from the
mid-19th century. The catalyst locally was the tearing down of the old city walls that had
run around the Innere Stadt (Inner City), offering the perfect opportunity to enrich the
city's architecture with grand buildings.
Ancient Greek Inspiration
The age of neoclassicism took root during the second half of the 18th century, and over the
next 100 years buildings inspired by ancient civilisations would spring up across Austria
and elsewhere in Europe. By the mid-19th century, an architectural revivalist fad had
taken root that offered a potpourri of styles: neo-Gothic, neo-Renaissance, and even a
'neo' form of neoclassicism.
Since the early days of the Renaissance, architects had looked to the ancient Greeks for
ideas. The architecture of Rome was well known, but from the 18th century, monarchs and
their builders were attracted to the purer classicism of Greece, and some of these architects
travelled there to experience this first-hand. One of the triggers for this newly found love
of all things Greek was the discovery in 1740 of three Doric temples in southern Italy in a
Greek-Roman settlement known as Paestum.
