Vienna. City of Art or Kunst as the Austrians call it. Kunst is everywhere you look – you are literally tripping over it or slapped in the face by it. Kunsthalle here, museum there, church on every corner and palaces galore!
Vienna is culture overload. I love this stuff but there is just to much of it to take in and stay sane. My head is brimming with ideas for paintings, drawings and sculpture.
Here are my Kunst highlights.
1) Gustv Klimt and Egon Schiele (Leopold Museum)
This museum houses the largest single collection of Egon Schiele’s work. Egon or Egon the freak as John affectionately calls him takes pride of place with his work taking up an entire floor with minor works scattered throughout. He was prolific and I was surprised to learn he was only 28 when he died of the Spanish flu.
Klimt is another powerhouse of Austrian art and it was Klimt that recognised Schiele’s talent and helped him score a break in the art world. The major Klimt piece at the Leopold is Love and Death which has echoes of his most famous work – The Lovers. It was great to be able to see the detail of the brushstrokes and to see just how textural these works were.
2) Schonbrunn Palace
The Austrian’s love a good palace and Schonbrunn does not disappoint. Apparently this is only the summer shack while the “normal” residence The Hofburg literally 5 minutes up the road (OK maybe those days it was 30 minutes by horse and carriage).
I often forget what a powerhouse the Austrians were back in the day. They ruled most of Europe. The palace tour was interesting. We opted for the tightarse Imperial Tour which only let us into 22 out of the hundreds of rooms on site. If you’ve seen one gold and crystal laden table, you’ve seen them all! We good a good understanding of the opulence of the Austrian aristocracy and also learned what a hard worker Emperor Franz Joseph was.
The highlight of the place has to be the acres of perfectly manicured gardens and statuary located within them. The gardens are open to the public for free and it was great to see Austrian runners running on the grounds along with people having picnics. There was the occasional drunk about too.
3) The Belvedere
The only reason I wanted to go to the Belvedere was to see the Lovers (the Kiss) by Gustav Klimt. I dragged John along to yet another Palace/Museum kicking and screaming. Of course it was on the top floor and me being me couldn’t leave until I saw everything. Much to John’s dismay there was plenty of his mate Egon’s work on display.
Most of the museum is filled with religious paintings on the lower levels. Some of those works were quite spectacular and epic taking up huge walls. When we finally reached the Klimt I was in awe of the intricate detail of the piece and just how enormous the canvas was. Klimt was a true master and was integral in the secession and art nouveau movement. He started as a classical painter and those works, also on display at the Belvedere, were masterworks as well. Just when I thought I couldn’t get enough, I’m right in front of his other famous and most recognised works-Judith. Her face is even more rapturous in real life. Yep, this little punk just had an artgasm.
4) Kaisergruft
For those that don’t know me, I tend to have gothic tendencies and I am drawn to the creepy and the macabre. I’m the kind of freak that loves a pleasant stroll through an old graveyard to admire the stones. When I had the opportunity to visit the crypts of the Austrian kaisers (Kaisergruft) it was something I could not pass up.
The crypt has been run by the Capuchin monks since 1633 and 145 late members of the Hapsburg royal family call it home. The coffins are simply spectacular. Contrary to popular belief the Capuchin monks were not famous for their cappuccino instead they rocked at coffin carvings.
Maria Teresa’s coffin was decorated in rococo carving and statuary and was absolutely breathtaking. I was in creepy goth heaven…skulls, angels, crowns and the bones of kings.
5) Stephansdom
Stephansdom or St Stephen’s Cathedral is one of the main landmarks of Vienna. It is located at the centre of the city on the aptly named Stephansplatz. I always used it as a point to catch my bearings. The place has been around for yonks, since the mid 1300’s to be more precise. It’s a gothic cathedral…..might explain why I like it so much!
One of the reasons this particular cathedral stands out for me is the multicoloured tiled roof – the tiles gleam in the sunshine and are gorgeous. The coats of arms of the Hapsburgs and the city of Vienna are scattered around the roof as well. This is definitely one of those must visit places.
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