Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the architectural turmoil of the turn of the 20th century, and represents the passing of the
torch from Europe's age of divine monarchs to the modern era.
• Let's take a look at where Austria's glorious history began—at the...
This is the complex of palaces where the Habsburg emperors lived (except in summer, when
they lived out at Schönbrunn Palace). Enter the Hofburg through the gate, where you imme-
diately find yourself beneath a big rotunda (the netting is there to keep birds from perching).
The doorway on the right is the entrance to the
Imperial Apartments,
where the Habs-
burg emperors once lived in chandeliered elegance. Today you can tour its lavish rooms, as
well as a museum about Empress Sisi, and a porcelain and silver collection. Tothe left is the
ticket office for the
Spanish Riding School
.
Continuing on, you emerge from the rotunda into the main courtyard of the Hofburg,
called
In der Burg.
The Caesar-like statue is of Habsburg Emperor Franz II (1768-1835),
grandson of Maria Theresa, grandfather of Franz Josef, and father-in-law of Napoleon. Be-
hind him is a tower with three kinds of clocks (the yellow disc shows the phase of the moon
tonight). To the right of Franz are the Imperial Apartments, and to the left are the offices of
Austria's mostly ceremonial president (the more powerful chancellor lives in a building just
behind this courtyard).
Franz Josef faces the oldest part of the palace. The colorful red, black, and gold gateway
(behind you), which used to have a drawbridge, leads over the moat and into the 13th-cen-
tury Swiss Court (Schweizerhof), named for the Swiss mercenary guards once stationed
there. Study the gate. Imagine the drawbridge and the chain. Notice the Habsburg coat of
arms with the imperial eagle above and the Renaissance painting on the ceiling of the pas-
sageway.
As you enter the Gothic courtyard, you're passing into the historic core of the palace,
the site of the first fortress, and, historically, the place of last refuge. Here you'll find the
Treasury
(Schatzkammer) and the
Imperial Music Chapel
(Hofmusikkapelle), where
the Boys' Choir sings Mass. Ever since Joseph Hayden and Franz Schubert were choirboys
here, visitors have gathered like groupies on Sundays to hear the famed choir sing.
Returning to the bigger In der Burg courtyard, face Franz and turn left, passing through
the
tunnel,
with a few tourist shops and restaurants, to spill out into spacious
Helden-
platz
(Heroes'Square).Ontheleftistheimpressivecurvedfacadeofthe
NewPalace
(Neue
Burg). This vast wing was built in the early 1900s to be the new Habsburg living quarters
(and was meant to have a matching building facing it). But in 1914, the heir to the throne,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand—while waiting politely for his long-lived uncle, Emperor Franz
