Monat: Juli 2023

On the way to Kahlenberg you can discover one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Vienna at Cobenzl (Reisenberg) in the 19th district. Originally owned by the Jesuits, the mountain came in the 18th century to Johann Philipp Count Cobenzl, who, in addition to a castle-like building and gardens, also had a farm with dairy established.

At the end of the 19th century, a construction company converted the property into a hotel restaurant, and later the municipality of Vienna took over the site. The original castle hotel was devastated during WWII, then remodeled and finally demolished in 1966.

On the hill, which is easily accessible due to the construction of the Höhenstraße in the 1930s, a Rondell café and a newly built small castle were later built, but due to conflicts with the operators, the Cobenzl fell into a slumber. In the course of a new takeover and recently completed renovation, a freely accessible panorama house was also added and can now also be used again as a prestigious event location.

The Athene Fountain on Vienna’s Ringstrasse, planned by Theophil Hansen and realized in Lasa marble from South Tyrol, was not unveiled until 1902, almost 20 years after the completion of the parliament building. The originally planned representation of Austria was then erected on the Freyung for political reasons.

Beneath the powerful representation of the Greek goddess of wisdom with Nike, the goddess of victory, in her right hand, allegorical representations of the separation of powers are shown: the executive with a sword and the legislative with a book. Important rivers of the monarchy: the Inn and Danube in the center, the Elbe and Vltava on the reverse are typically depicted as reclining figures. Winged cupids riding on dolphins symbolize trade and industry.

The fountain, which was completely renovated in 2005, is considered a rare example of a monumental, Strict Historicism sculpture and was realized by the sculptors Carl Kundmann, Josef Tautenhayn and Hugo Haerdtl.

The Hofburg Chapel, as the main chapel of the Hofburg, was the house chapel of the Habsburgs until the end of the monarchy in 1918. It was built in the late Romanesque style as early as the 13th century and was rebuilt and expanded in the Gothic style in the 15th century under Emperor Frederick III. It was the responsibility of the K.u.k. Hof- und Burgpfarre, a Roman Catholic parish with special status under church law, which was responsible for the spiritual care of the imperial family and the court.

Already under Emperor Maximilian I, the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, founded in 1498, gave concerts there. Today, it consists of the Vienna Boys‘ Choir, parts of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, parts of the Herrenchor of the Vienna State Opera and the Choralschola, a group of former Vienna Boys‘ Choir members.

The ensemble, which is today subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sports, performs not only in public concerts but also, in particular, as an accompaniment to Sunday Mass in the Hofburg Chapel (except July and August).

At the western entrance to the WU campus in Leopoldstadt, which opened in Oct. 2013, is the striking building of the Executive Academy (EA) and the WU Alumni Club by Spanish Arch. Eduardo Arroyo Muñoz (NO.MAD Arquitectos, Madrid). In the black, twisted 4-story structure with different transparent and reflective aluminum and glass surfaces, the surroundings also show.

Stacked around the central installation core are different plans per floor with soundproofing acoustic floors, the multitude of windows respond to different uses, such as learning areas, arena-style lecture halls and quiet zones.

The architect, born in 1964, with his „non-cartesian“ geometry, is responsible for the Lasesarre Stadium and Plaza Desierto in Bilbao, Casa Levene and Zafra-Uceda House in Madrid and museum extensions, among others.