“The past is never dead; it’s not even past.” William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun
Carol writes: Schönbrunn Palace is by far the chief tourist attraction for visitors to Vienna. It was the summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, a place where they could get away from the oppressive days of summer in Vienna. This is the palace where the only female Habsburg monarch, the Empress Maria Theresa,
raised her very large family of 16 children while at the same time ruling her nation. Her great-great grandson Franz Joseph and his self-absorbed wife, Sisi, were the last royal residents at Schönbrunn Palace. As a result, the decor of the rooms reflects the Franz Joseph era.
Among all of the palaces of Europe, Schönbrunn is said to rival Versailles. And what a stunning sight it was beneath a brilliant blue sky!
We passed through one grand room after another on the tour. A few of the most impressive rooms were: Sisi’s dressing room, with an effective use of a Sisi mannequin,
Franz Joseph’s bedroom with the simple bed where he died,
the Great Gallery, where President Kennedy held a meeting with Soviet Premier Khrushchev in 1961,
the Millions Room with its exotic rosewood paneling,
and the grand view from the back balcony, where we got a great twosome due to the generosity of a fellow visitor.
At first the tombs of the deceased started out as relatively simple gray metal coffins,
Over the centuries, the sarcophagi to the dead became more and more elaborate, with complex carvings rich in symbolism.
Empress Maria Theresa won the grand prize for most impressive tomb. Perhaps she deserved this honor as the only female Habsburg ruler who simultaneously raised 16 children while ruling for 40 years!
It was back to simplicity with Emperor Franz Joseph, the man of the humble iron bedstead.
Of course, Sisi, resting forever next to her husband, elected for a design a few steps grander.
I must admit the visit to the royal tombs was a novel way to view the Habsburg family tree.
After a sobering tomb walk, we decided to do a meal on the town. We selected the historic underground “Twelve Apostles Keller,” where the foundation stone was engraved with the year 1561, and that was just a year of rebuilding…The origins of the building went back to the 1300s.
These ancient vaults were a perfect spot for unwinding with good beer and Austrian white wine, along with some excellent schnitzel.
The Albertina Museum had a whole lot of bang for the buck. We were intrigued by the creative way of advertising its collections on the risers of the steps of a long flight of stairs that we had been walking by for the past few days.
The Albertina Museum is famous for its prized collection of art that belonged to Albert of Saxony, husband of Empress Maria Theresa’s favorite daughter, Maria Christina. The name is derived from a clever combination of Albert’s and Christina’s names—“Alber-tina.”
The art of the Albertina included a vast variety of masters that we have come to know and appreciate—
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| Amedeo Modigliani |
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| Henri Matisse |
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| Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
Edgar Degas
The Marc Chagall collection introduced me to his paintings, a side of Chagall art that I was not familiar with. My only experience with his works prior to this was as a master of stained glass windows, which we have seen in cathedrals throughout Europe.
Marc Chagall was born into a poor Jewish family in Belarus. His personal history was emotionally revealed in this highly symbolic painting of Jew with a Torah scroll, longing for a homeland, with the silhouette of a Russian village in the background.
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| Marc Chagall |
The Albertina also had a handful of 18th century Habsburg staterooms that reflected the usual imperial splendor of the time. My memory is that photographs were not allowed. In any case, neither of us took any.
Belvedere Palace was the ornate palace home of Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), the military genius and much heralded conqueror of the Ottomans. As such, he was handsomely rewarded with vast riches and decided he wanted a palace. He was not a Habsburg but built his palace with a similar layout and aura as the Habsburg Schönbrunn Palace. Unfortunately, Eugene had no heirs and so on his death the state got his property.
The front of Belvedere Palace was covered in repair scaffolding; however, the rear of the palace was equally spectacular.
The star of the Belvedere Palace world-class art collection was Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. Klimt obsessed over painting the female body. Many of his works displayed outright eroticism.
Klimt’s interpretation of the biblical story about Judith portrays her as a high-society Viennese woman, with a flashy dog-collar necklace—not at all the biblical heroine. In predictable Klimt fashion, femininity prevails in the painting with Judith portrayed holding the head of her vanquished enemy. “Judith” was thought-provoking…
On the other hand, Klimt’s earlier work was very realistic in his society portraits.
We had certainly gotten a whole lot of Austrian history at the Schönbrunn and Belvedere palaces of Vienna, at the Imperial Crypts, and even at the Albertina Museum. In the coming days, we would venture outside of Vienna on the train for a day trip up the Danube Valley. In my mind, if possible, a river boat ride on the Danube would be a nice bookend for any trip to Vienna.
“You can only understand the present when it is past.” Han Suyin
Carol Galus
Photo-Blogger
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