The Volksgarten (English: People's Garden) is a public park in the Innere Stadt first district of Vienna, Austria. The garden, which is part of the Hofburg Palace, was laid out by Ludwig Remy in 1821. [1] The park was built over the city fortifications that were destroyed by Napoleon in 1809. The Volksgarten was opened to the public in 1823.
The Volksgarten area was originally used for fortifications. Between 1596 and 1597, a fortress wall was built on the eastern side of park. In 1639, additional fortifications were built on the southern side. In 1809, these fortifications were destroyed by Napoleon's French troops.
Between 1817 and 1821, the area near Ballhausplatz square was converted to gardens originally intended for a private garden for the archdukes. These plans were changed through a proposal by the court garden administration to turn the area into the first public park in the city. On 1 March 1823, the park was officially opened. Starting in 1825, the name Volksgarten was commonly used. In 1862, the gardens were extended toward Ringstraße after the city moat had been filled in. [2]
At the center of the park stands the neoclassical Theseus Temple by Pietro di Nobile, completed in 1821. [1] This small-scale replica of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens was originally designed to house Antonio Canova's Theseus sculpture. Canova was also involved in the construction of the temple. In 1890, Canova's sculpture was moved to the Museum of Fine Arts.
The Cortisches coffee house was built between 1820 and 1823, also by Peter Nobile. Austrian Romantic composers Johann Strauss I and Joseph Lanner performed here.
The Cafè Meierei was built in 1890, originally as a water reservoir. In 1924, it was converted to the Milchtrinkhalle. The Milchpavillon was built in 1951 by Oswald Haerdtl.
At the northern end of the park stands the Empress Elizabeth Monument by Hans Bitterlich and Friedrich Ohmann, completed in 1907. [1] At the center of the monument is a statue of a seated Empress Elisabeth by Hans Bitterlich. The statue of the empress, which was sculpted from an 8000–kg block of Laaser marble, measures 2.5 m in height. The dedication of the monument took place on 4 June 1907 in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
At the southern end of the park stands the Franz Grillparzer Monument by Carl Kundmann, completed in 1875. [1] The seated figure of Austrian writer Franz Grillparzer is shown in contemplation holding a book in his left hand.
The Volksgarten contains two fountains. The Triton and Nymph Fountain was built in 1880 by Viktor Tilgner. People's Garten Fountain was erected in 1866 by Anton Dominik Fernkorn.
The park is famous for its beautiful rose gardens with over 3,000 rose bushes of about 400 different cultivars of roses.
Antonio Canova was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists, his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the classical revival, and has been characterised as having avoided the melodramatics of the former, and the cold artificiality of the latter.
Elisabeth of Bavaria, nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898.
Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vienna. He also wrote the oration for Ludwig van Beethoven's funeral, as well as the epitaph for his friend Franz Schubert.
The Burgtheater, originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the national theater of Austria in Vienna. It is the most important German-language theater and one of the most important theatres in the world. The Burgtheater was opened in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the Viennese population; its theater company has created a traditional style and speech typical of Burgtheater performances.
The Vienna Ring Road is a 5.3 km circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites where medieval city fortifications once stood, including high walls and the broad open field ramparts (glacis), criss-crossed by paths that lay before them.
Heldenplatz is a public space in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt borough, the President of Austria resides in the adjoining Hofburg wing, while the Federal Chancellery is on adjacent Ballhausplatz.
The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence. Since 1946, it is the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria.
The Votivkirche is a neo-Gothic style church located on the Ringstraße in Vienna, Austria. Following the attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853, the Emperor's brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian inaugurated a campaign to create a church to thank God for saving the Emperor's life. Funds for construction were solicited from throughout the Empire. The church was dedicated in 1879 on the silver anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Empress Elisabeth.
Maria-Theresien-Platz is a large public square in Vienna, Austria, that joins the Ringstraße with the Museumsquartier, a museum of modern arts located in the former Imperial Stables. Facing each other from the sides of the square are two near identical buildings, the Naturhistorisches Museum and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The buildings are near identical, except for the statuary on their façades. The Naturhistorisches' façade has statues depicting personifications of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Kunsthistorisches façade features famous European artists, such as the Dutch Bruegel, among others.
The Augustinian Church in Vienna is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, the harmonious Gothic interior was added in the 18th century. The official name of church and parish is St. Augustin, but it is locally called Augustinerkirche.
Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility. Emperor Franz Joseph I gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth, and he called it the "castle of dreams.“ The name of the villa refers to a statue of Hermes made of white marble that is located in the garden of the villa. Today, the Hermesvilla is noted for its art and natural setting, and is used by the Vienna Museum for special exhibitions on cultural history.
The sculptures in the Schönbrunn Garden at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria were created between 1773 and 1780 under the direction of Johann Wilhelm Beyer, a German artist and garden designer. The Great Parterre of Schönbrunn Garden is lined on both sides with 32 over life-size sculptures that represent mythological deities and virtues. The Neptune Fountain at the foot of the Gloriette hill is the crowning monument of the Great Parterre. Other sculptures are distributed throughout the garden and palace forecourt, including fountains and pools. Several sculptors were employed during the execution of these works, among them Johann Baptist Hagenauer.
Franz Antoine was an Austrian horticulturalist and gardener. The standard author abbreviation Antoine is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
The Ephesos Museum in Vienna displays antiquities from the city of Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey. Begun in the late 19th century, the collection includes original works of sculpture and architecture, and belongs to the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Edmund Ritter von Hellmer, born Edmund Hellmer and ennobled in 1912, was an Austrian sculptor who worked in the styles of Historicism and Art Nouveau.
The Hofburg is a former Habsburg palace in Innsbruck, Austria, and considered one of the three most significant cultural buildings in the country, along with the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The Hofburg is the main building of a large residential complex once used by the Habsburgs that still includes the Noblewomen's Collegiate Foundation, the Silver Chapel, the Hofkirche containing Emperor Maximilian's cenotaph and the Schwarzen Mandern, the Theological University, the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum, Innsbruck Cathedral, the Congress, and the Hofgarten.
Carl Kundmann was an Austrian sculptor, best known for his works which adorn the area around the Ringstraße project.
Rudolf Weyr, from 14 May 1911, Rudolf Ritter von Weyr was an Austrian sculptor in the Neo-Baroque style.
Hans Bitterlich was an Austrian sculptor.
Friedrich Ohmann was an Austrian architect in the Historicist style.
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Coordinates: 48°12′29″N16°21′40″E / 48.2080555556°N 16.3611111111°E
