Austrian Academy of Sciences – michaelsrootsinvienna.at (en)

The Austrian Academy of Sciences has used the building in the 1st district, right next to the Jesuit Church, since 1857. Opened some 100 years earlier as the lecture theatre of the old university, it was built based on plans by the French architect Jean Nicolas Jadot de Ville-Issey. The construction of this pioneering Baroque-Classical monumental building with its elaborate fresco decoration was initiated by Empress Maria Theresa herself.

Of particular note is the two-storey ballroom, which features significant frescoes by Gregorio Guglielmi (who is also renowned for his work in the Grand Gallery at Schönbrunn Palace). These frescoes were restored following a fire. The stuccoed wall niches contain sculptures depicting allegorical representations of power, charity and science.

Notably, it was in this hall that Joseph Haydn made his final public appearance in March 1808, attending a performance of his ‚Die Schöpfung‘.