The curved, domed façade in front of you is the Michaelertrakt, the grand entrance to the Hofburg, the palace from which the Habsburgs ruled from the late 13th century until 1918. Behind it stretches a huge complex of courtyards, wings and chapels covering some 300,000 square metres.

1Designed in 1726, finished in 1893

Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach drew this façade around 1726, but it was only half built. For more than a century and a half, the old Burgtheater stood here, attached to the palace. When the theatre moved to the Ringstrasse, Ferdinand Kirschner completed the project between 1889 and 1893. The two fountains at the ends represent the empire's power at sea and power on land.

2Inside the Hofburg

This entrance leads to the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum, devoted to Empress Elisabeth. Close by, the Spanish Riding School still trains its Lipizzaner horses. Today, in another wing of the palace, the President of the Republic has his office.

Facing the palace, Adolf Loos's building of 1909–1912, with no decoration around its windows, was dubbed by the Viennese "the house without eyebrows".

It is said that Emperor Franz Joseph disliked it so much he avoided looking at it, though that is more anecdote than proven fact. In the middle of the square, excavations reveal Roman and medieval remains.

3What to look for

  • The labours of Hercules at the palace gate.
  • The green dome above the entrance.
  • The Looshaus, with its veined marble columns.

Documented

The Hofburg was the Habsburg residence from the late 13th century until 1918; the Michaelertrakt, designed around 1726, was completed in 1889–1893; the Looshaus went up in 1909–1912 amid fierce controversy.

Oral tradition

Emperor Franz Joseph's personal dislike of the Looshaus is passed down as an anecdote.

Sources and credits

Vienna Hofburg (hofburg-wien.at); Burghauptmannschaft Österreich; German Wikipedia, "Michaelerplatz" and "Looshaus".

Photos:

  • The Michaelertrakt entrance of the Hofburg, with its green dome and the statues of Hercules beside the gate: Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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