Archduke Wilhelm's Palace
The Palais Erzherzog Wilhelm (also: Deutschmeister -Palais ) is a historic building on Vienna's Ringstrasse built by the Danish-Austrian architect Theophil von Hansen from 1864 to 1868 .
history
The four-story building at Parkring 8 was one of the earliest Ringstrasse buildings. The builder was Archduke Wilhelm (1827-1894), Grand Master of the Teutonic Order . In 1870 the Archduke sold the palace to the Deutschmeister. From 1938 to 1945 it was the seat of the Vienna SS headquarters , from 1945 to 1974 it served as the Vienna Federal Police Directorate . In 1981 the building, which had been vacant since 1975, was acquired by the OPEC Fund ( OFID ) and extensively redesigned by the architects Georg Lippert until 1983. The representative rooms were brought closer to their original state, but the attic was expanded , which in fact amounted to an increase in storeys .
description
The palace is one of the most important and, thanks to the exemplary restoration, one of the best preserved Ringstrasse palaces. The building is divided into a five-storey central projection and side wings that are one storey lower. In a two-storey, square base zone, three high arched portals lead to the two-flight grand staircase and on to the former stables. The risalit on the piano nobile is adorned with an Ionic colonnade with a balustrade. On the side facade are fluted pilasters with Ionic capitals between the window axes. The windows are suspected of having triangular gables on consoles. A continuous frieze on the attic floor shows the coats of arms of the grand masters of the order. Six heralds of the order carry the richly cranked and trophy-studded pedestals of a balustrade. On the pedestals of the balustrade of the side wings are six statues of order grandmasters, created by Josef Gasser . The back of the Palais on Cobdengasse is very simple in contrast to the front side on Parkring.
Inside, there is a particularly richly decorated salon with two dark green marble columns as room dividers, black marble plinth and pink wall panels, as well as a coffered ceiling and the dining room with adjoining buffet. Four pillars create a visual separation between the buffet and the dining room, which has a particularly festive effect with its black and red marbled base and white fields between Corinthian, gold-plated pilasters. The frieze zone is decorated with the coats of arms of the grand masters on a black background and gilded tendril motifs. The conclusion is a richly gilded coffered ceiling.
literature
- Dehio Vienna, I. District - Inner City, S 350, ISBN 3-85028-366-6
- W. Kraus - P. Müller, Wiener Palais, ISBN 3-926678-22-4
Web links
- Presentation according to planet-vienna.com
- Entry about Archduke Wilhelm's Palace on Burgen-Austria
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 22.1 ″ N , 16 ° 22 ′ 43.9 ″ E