Palais couple
The Palais Paar was a city palace from the beginning of the 18th century, which was demolished in the late 1930s despite massive public protests. It was located at Wollzeile 30 in Vienna's 1st district, Innere Stadt .
history
The imperial counts and later princes von Paar had their Viennese residence in Wollzeile since the 16th century. Since 1624 they were enfeoffed with the Supreme Court Postmaster's Office for Austria, Hungary and Bohemia and were thus in long-term competition with Taxis. The large, splendidly decorated stables belonging to the palace had to do with the post office function (which remained in effect even after the nationalization of the Habsburg postal service in 1722 ). The interior of the palace was kept in decorative Rococo style until after the First World War .
The path that was to lead from underuse to intensified new use of the attractively located building site was thus taken. A role was played by the fact that after the First World War the social democratic community of Vienna levied a high housing tax to finance municipal housing in Vienna , which was designed as a luxury tax (also on housing). For this reason, Alois Paar had the precious paneling removed and taken to Bohemia. The house now stood empty and was unusable for residential purposes - an effect similar to that of the fatal roof tax introduced by Emperor Joseph II , which destroyed countless castles. The palace slowly began to deteriorate. Numerous voices were raised calling for its preservation as a cultural monument, but these were in vain. In 1938 there was a long threatened demolition.
A room from the palace was salvaged in time and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York . The room is based on a design by the architect Isidore Canevale (1730–1786), the woodcut by Johann Georg Leithner (1725–1785). The blackboards are made of painted and gilded pine wood . The room was financially purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman (inventory number 63.229.1).
literature
- Edgard Haider: Lost Vienna, aristocratic palaces of days gone by . Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-205-07220-0 .
- James Parker: The blue room from the Palais Paar in Vienna. A gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York . In: Alte und Moderne Kunst 16, 1971, ISSN 0002-6565 , pp. 8-14.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 28 " N , 16 ° 22 ′ 40" E