Stefanie Jäger

Framing Vienna: Hidden Secrets of the Hofburg 🏛️✨
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Happy Tuesday, dear travel friends! Let’s start the week with some imperial inspiration ☕️❤️🙋🏻‍♀️
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Swipe through 15 frames and walk with me from Michaelerplatz right through the Hofburg to Heldenplatz! 📸👇
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The Michaelertrakt with its 54-metre dome (Pics 1,5,14) was designed by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach back in 1726. But the old court theatre stood in the way, so the plan sat in a drawer for over 150 years. Only after the theatre was torn down in 1888 could Ferdinand Kirschner finish the wing in 1893. Fun fact: that theatre saw the premieres of Mozart’s “The Abduction from the Seraglio” and “The Marriage of Figaro”!
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Under the dome, the rotunda leads to the Sisi Museum (Pics 2,3). Legend says a kiss under the dome brings couples luck. 💋 And now and then a Fiaker trots through (Pic 4).🐴
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The Hercules groups at the gate (Pics 6,7) date from 1893, each by a different sculptor. The ones in the inner courtyard (Pics 8–11) are much older: Lorenzo Mattielli carved them for the Imperial Chancellery Wing around 1730. From the courtyard you can see the Michaelertrakt dome peeking over its roof (Pic 8). Watch Hercules crush Antaeus (Pic 10) and defeat Busiris (Pic 11)!
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In the courtyard “In der Burg” stands Emperor Franz (Pics 12,13) in a Roman toga. He ruled two empires: as Franz II of the Holy Roman Empire and as Franz I of Austria. The inscription “Amorem meum populis meis” (“My love to my peoples”) comes from his will. In picture 12 he stands beneath construction cranes – old empire meets a city at work. 😉
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Grand finale on Heldenplatz (Pic 15): Prince Eugene’s horse rears up but needs its tail as a third support. The horse of Archduke Charles, on the other side of the square (not pictured), balances on its hind legs alone. Both are by Anton Dominik Fernkorn.
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👇 Which frame is your favourite? Have you ever walked through to the inner courtyard?
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Save this for your next Vienna trip and share it with a friend!
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#1000placestoseeinvienna #hofburg #michaelerplatz #wienstagram #exploringvienna
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