Die Wiener Hofburg 1705‒1835

Volume III of the 5-volume publication series on the history of the building and function of the Vienna Hofburg deals with the multifarious history of planning and construction between the start of Joseph I’s reign (1705) and the death of the Emperor Franz II (I.) (1835). This ranges from the extension of the imperial residence in the High Baroque style to plans drawn up by the court architects Johann Bernhard and Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach or Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, via initiatives undertaken under Maria Theresa, such through to completion of the Outer Castle Courtyard. A characteristic feature of construction work on the “city residence” is the tension between tradition and innovation, which has been addressed with varying levels of accentuation, and has determined the appearance of the Hofburg through to the present day. In addition to addressing the history of the planning and construction, this volume also investigates the various functional areas of the imperial residence. The diverse facets of the ceremony attached to the Habsburg's residential culture and the sequences of rooms, interior design, sacred spaces, theatrical and festival culture, collections and landscape gardening that this entailed are presented based on newly acquired knowledge gained from intensive basic research. For the first time ever, for example, the oldest accommodation plan for the Vienna Hofburg dating from around 1775 is being published, on which the function of almost every room in the extensive building complex is described. The concluding comparison with other European residences reveals the unique nature of the imperial residence of the house of Habsburg-Lorraine. An extensive collection of images accompanies the text, drawing on previously unpublished layout drawings, plans and historic views. 3D reconstructions of the historic building show how the residential complex changed during the period from 1705 to 1835.