Hermesvilla

Franz Joseph had the Hermesvilla built between 1882 and 1886 inside the walled Lainz hunting ground as a present for Elisabeth, in the hope - by most accounts unrealised - that it would give her a reason to stay in Vienna rather than travelling constantly. Karl von Hasenauer designed it, with interiors involving Hans Makart and a young Gustav Klimt, who painted ceiling work in Elisabeth's bedroom; the room was fitted with gymnastic equipment and mirrors for the exercise regime she kept obsessively. The name comes from a marble Hermes in the garden, which Elisabeth herself commissioned from the Berlin sculptor Ernst Herter. It is now run by the Wien Museum, with the historic rooms shown and temporary exhibitions in the rest, and it stands about half an hour on foot inside the reserve with deer and boar around it.

History

Emperor Franz Joseph decided in the summer of 1881 to build the villa, first called Villa Waldruh, apparently hoping it would keep his much-travelled wife in Vienna; Karl von Hasenauer designed it, and it was built from 1882 to 1886, with stables and riding grounds for Elisabeth's horses. It was renamed in 1885 after the marble Hermes the Guardian, which the empress commissioned from the Berlin sculptor Ernst Herter, the road to it was one of the first in Vienna with electric light, and from 1887 until her death in 1898 the couple came every year in late spring, for a few days or a couple of weeks (Wikipedia, Hermesvilla).

What's there

• Elisabeth's private villa - built 1886 as an attempt to keep her in Vienna.
• Klimt ceiling painting - early work in the empress's bedroom.
• Her gymnastic rooms - the equipment and mirrors of her exercise regime.
• A house inside a game reserve - deer and boar in the grounds around it.

When to go

April to October, with the Tiergarten gates. Two hours.

Good to know

You must walk about half an hour in from the gate, and the reserve closes seasonally and early. The house shows temporary exhibitions alongside the historic rooms. Closed Mondays.

Nearby

The Lainzer Tiergarten surrounds it; Schönbrunn is east.

Key facts