The Belvedere

The Belvedere is a magnificent pair of baroque palaces in Vienna, the Upper and Lower, linked by formal terraced gardens, built for Prince Eugene of Savoy. Now an art museum, its greatest treasure is Gustav Klimt's shimmering golden painting The Kiss, alongside the finest collection of Austrian art and grand palace interiors.

History

Prince Eugene of Savoy commissioned the garden palace as a summer residence from Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, completed in 1723, with interiors by Francesco Solimena, Carlo Carlone and Giacomo del Pò. In 1776 Empress Maria Theresa moved the imperial picture gallery here from the Hofburg and opened it to the public, parts of the imperial collection were shown from 1781, and the state's Moderne Galerie opened in the Lower Belvedere in 1903; after the end of the monarchy the Upper Belvedere and the Orangery became museums too, named the Österreichische Galerie in 1921, with the Baroque Museum opening in 1923, the gallery of 19th-century art in 1924 and the modern gallery in the Orangery in 1929 (Wikipedia, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere).

Highlights

• The Kiss - Klimt's famous golden painting, the museum's star.
• The Austrian art collection - the works of Klimt, Schiele and the golden age.
• The baroque palaces - the Upper and Lower Belvedere and their grand halls.
• The gardens - the formal terraced gardens between the two palaces.

When to go

Year-round; a fully indoor museum with free gardens loveliest in the warm months. Book ahead in the busy season to see The Kiss without a long queue.

Practical notes

It is a very popular museum, so the room with The Kiss is crowded. It is an art gallery in palace rooms rather than furnished imperial apartments. The gardens are free and a pleasant walk in themselves.

Nearby

Central Vienna, the Ringstrasse and the Naschmarkt are within a short ride.