The Belvedere was originally built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. He is revered in Austria as the man who drove the Turks from their occupation of Vienna in 1683.
By 1712 Prince Savoy commissioned his palace. Today The Belvedere is known as an art and exhibition space, but is most famous for housing a collection of Gustav Klimt paintings. The two most famous are “Judith”:
And “The Kiss”:
The most famous work known as “Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer” was housed at The Belvedere until 2006. It is the subject of the film “Woman in Gold” and has an absorbing history that you can read about here.
The palace itself was a piece of art, especially the grand gallery.
The murals on the ceiling were gorgeous.
The Klimt’s really were the focus of our visit and after seeing them we took a look at the gardens.
Of course in the dead of winter they aren’t going to be as beautiful, but you can imagine what they look like when they’re blooming!
