Maria Theresa Monument
The Maria Theresa Monument is the most important ruling monument of the Habsburg monarchy in Vienna . It commemorates Maria Theresa , Archduchess of Austria, wife and, since 1765, Empress widow of Emperor Franz I Stephan of Lorraine . It ruled the Habsburg Monarchy from 1740 to 1780. The monument has stood on Maria-Theresien-Platz on Vienna's Ringstrasse ( Burgring ) since 1888, between the former court museums, the Art History Museum opened in 1891 and the Natural History Museum opened in 1889 , against the background of the former court stables , today's Museum Quarter . The ensemble monument, accompanied by the triton and naiad fountain , is a World Heritage Site in the Historic Center of Vienna .
Historical background
The Austrian Empire lost Lombardy and Veneto to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1859 and 1866 respectively. After the defeat in the German War , which Prussia had triggered by violating the rules of the German Confederation , it was forced to leave Germany in 1866 , which was constituted in 1871 as the German Empire under the new Empire. 1867 had to Emperor Franz Joseph I. in Compromise with Hungary the formal division of the imperial state into one of Vienna ruled cisleithanische and from Budapest ruled trans leitha African agree with half of the Empire, with Hungary is increasingly not gerierte than half of the empire, but as a largely independent state.
During the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 , an economic crisis had occurred, the “ Founders Crach ”, which devalued liberalism as the leading political movement and gave rise to new mass parties, initially the Christian Socials and later the Social Democrats . In addition, national movements became increasingly noticeable in the multi-ethnic state.
The aim was to counteract these centrifugal tendencies, which erode monarchical power, through patriotic appeals to the splendor and glory of the dual monarchy . The new Vienna Ringstrasse around the old town, which had been under construction since 1858 and opened in 1865 (still unfinished), offered the opportunity to do so. On the Heldenplatz in front of the Hofburg , which adjoins Maria-Theresien-Platz in the center on the other side of the Ringstrasse, monuments to the two most important generals of the monarchy, Prince Eugen and Archduke Karl , were erected in 1860 and 1865 . For Maria-Theresien-Platz, which was to form an imperial forum with Heldenplatz, it was an obvious choice to erect a monument to the historical mother of the country. Through her marriage to Franz Stephan of Lothringen and his election as emperor, she had brought the Roman-German Empire back to Vienna and secured the continued existence of the dynasty, now as the House of Habsburg-Lothringen . She referred to a time when the development of the monarchy was dependent neither on party-political nor on national-political considerations, but on the wisdom of the rulers. Their reputation and popularity should have an impact on the current empire.
The monument
In 1874 the three sculptors Johannes Benk , Carl Kundmann and Caspar Zumbusch submitted designs for the execution of the sculptures . Emperor Franz Joseph I decided for Zumbusch, who worked with his student Anton Brenek for around 13 years on the bronze sculptures , which have a total weight of 44 tons. Carl von Hasenauer designed the architecture of the monument.
With the base , the monument covers an area of 632 m² and is 19.36 m high, with the seated figure of the Empress 6 m high on top. The base and chain stand are made of Mauthausen granite from Enghagen in Upper Austria , the pedestal and base are made of brown hornblende - granite from Petersburg-Jeschitz near Pilsen in Bohemia , the columns made of serpentinite from Wiesen near Sterzing in South Tyrol .
The content-related program for the memorial came from Alfred von Arneth , director of the imperial house, court and state archives . The monarch herself sits on her throne at the head, in her left a scepter and the pragmatic sanction , the state and constitutional treaty, which, as a woman, made it possible for her to rule the Habsburg hereditary lands and in Hungary, with her right greeting the people. Around the throne, four female figures sit on the cornice as allegorical embodiments of the cardinal virtues of justice, strength, mildness and wisdom.
On each of the four sides of the base there is an arched field with a relief and in front of it a free-standing statue in a thematic context:
- The empress's advisors are represented by Wenzel Anton Kaunitz as a statue and Johann Christoph von Bartenstein , Gundaker Thomas Graf Starhemberg and Florimond Claude von Mercy-Argenteau in relief, the background of which shows the Gloriette in the garden of Schönbrunn Palace .
- For the administration are Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz (. V. L. N r.) (Statue) and Antal Grassalkovich I (represents the Kingdom of Hungary ), Samuel von Brukenthal (for Transylvania ), Paul Joseph von Riegger (scientists, constitutional law), Joseph von Sonnenfels (administrative reformer ) and Karl Anton von Martini (university professor for constitutional law) in a consultation room in the Hofburg.
- For the military , Josef Wenzel I von Liechtenstein (statue) with Franz Moritz von Lacy , Andreas Hadik von Futak and Franz Leopold von Nádasdy stand in front of the castle in Wiener Neustadt , where the Theresian Military Academy was established in 1752 .
- Science and art are represented by the doctor Gerard van Swieten (statue), the numismatist Joseph Hilarius Eckhel , the historian György Pray and the composers Christoph Willibald Gluck , Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , depicted as a child, in front of the Old University .
Consultant
administration
military
Science and art
On the diagonal axes, equestrian statues of four generals from the era of Maria Theresa surround the monument: Leopold Joseph von Daun (1705–1766), Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller (1683–1744), Gideon Ernst von Laudon (1717–1790) and Otto Ferdinand von Abensperg and Traun (1677–1748).
Leopold Joseph von Daun
Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller
Gideon Ernst von Laudon
Otto Ferdinand von Abensperg and Traun
The monument was completely renovated from October 2008. In a first step, the base, its granite cladding and the foundation were restored. In the course of the work, an approximately 600 m² brick vault was discovered under the monument as a load-bearing construction, which is similar to the already known structural elements under the equestrian statues on Heldenplatz. In a second step, the renovation of the stone and metal surfaces was completed by the end of 2013.
reception
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A grand ceremony took place on May 13, 1888, for the unveiling of the monument on the empress's 171st birthday. In front of the memorial, an imperial box was erected in a marquee, in which the entire imperial family took part in the ceremony. The Viennese Archbishop Cardinal Cölestin Josef Ganglbauer celebrated a ceremonial Te Deum with 20 other bishops , generals were present in white tunics with ribbons, the military secured the place. When the monument was unveiled, all of Vienna's church bells rang.
Empress Elisabeth took part in the ceremony at the age of 51 and wrote a poem about it that was only published decades later. She saw the event quite critically, as the following text quotations show:
"What a great honor one can earn / by ancestors."
“By God, what should become of the crowd / Habsburg sprouts? / From this expensive ornament / That burdens every country (...) "
She lets Maria Theresa speak:
“You called me down to you / But what do I have to be aware of? / The old braid, it stayed the same / For a hundred and eight years! / You are still so proud and narrow-minded / As in the best of times (...) "
Maria Theresa demands that the guests of honor prepare a banquet table for the people:
“You, Habsburgs sprouts, step forward! / From the shadow of your tent / Be a servant choir yourself today / By God's grace to the people. "
The Viennese daily Neue Freie Presse reported in detail on May 14, 1888 about the extraordinary ceremony and the satisfaction of the imperial couple with the monument, but also stated that the state's presence was not as glorious as the centuries past . Current problems of equality between the nationalities of Cisleithania were reported as examples from political discussions.
On the occasion of the unveiling of the monument in 1888, this part of the Kaiserforum was named Maria-Theresien-Platz .
literature
- Robert Seemann , Herbert Summesberger: Viennese stone hiking trails , the geology of the big city. Verlag Christian Brandstätter 1999, ISBN 3-85447-787-2 , Maria-Theresien-Denkmal pp. 12-14.
Web links
- Detailed article on the monument at viennatouristguide.at
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilhelm Schram : Brenneck, Anton . In: Ulrich Thieme , Felix Becker (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. tape 4 : Bida – Brevoort . Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1910, p. 578-579 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
- ^ ORF Vienna : Vienna's largest monument is being renovated , October 10, 2008
- ↑ From: Brigitte Hamann (Ed.): Empress Elisabeth: The poetic diary. 5th edition, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2003, p. 339 f .; 6th edition, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-7001-2681-2 .
- ↑ The unveiling of the Maria Theresa monument. In: Neue Freie Presse , Abendblatt, No. 8520, May 14, 1888, pp. 1–2 (online at ANNO ).
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 16 " N , 16 ° 21 ′ 38.8" E