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Last updated on 18 May 09
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Belvedere Vienna

  4.0/5 (1 ratings)

Gardenvisit Editorial

Vienna's Belvedere Palace has a fine prospect of the old city from a beautiful garden. Belvedere means 'a place from which to see beauty'. Though his parents were born in Italy, Prince Eugene was a Frenchman and well-aquainted with Versailles. Spurned by Louis XIV, he became military commander of the Holy Roman Empire, and then 'the most grandiose and influential private patron in Europe'. Eugene was austere and taciturn, but a close friend and comrade of the Duke of Marlborough. They defeated Louis XIV's armies and were rewarded with palaces - one can compare the Belvedere with the original layout of Blenheim. The two generals were known as 'one soul with two bodies' - but they also had two gardens. Eugene had bought land outside the medieval town after driving back the Turks' last assault on Vienna. All Europe rejoiced in its safety from 'the infidels'. Vienna developed a gay cosmopolitan society. The Belvedere has a grand Upper Palace (built 1720-22) and a more comfortable Lower Palace (built 1714-16), where Prince Eugene lived. Gardens link the palaces, with elegant pools, fountains, sculpture, steps and cascades. Immaculate clipped maple hedges bring the sky itself into the design. The theme is man's journey from darkness to the divine light. After Prince Eugene's death, in 1736, his estate passed to the Hapsburgs and continued to be used for social gatherings of pomp and circumstance. A 1731 set of envravings illustrated 'The Wonderful Home of the Incomperable Hero of our Time in Wars and Victories' much as they are today. Gothein II 164.
Address - Prinz Eugenstrasse, Vienna, Austria
Opening times - All year, Daily, Dawn to dusk
Admission - Entrance free
Website - Visit the Belvedere Vienna website

Designers and Influences

This garden has been designed and influenced by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt

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Recent Reviews

  • about 1 month ago David White, Durham, NC USA said

    If you are interested in plants, the gem of Belvedere is the Alpengarten located at the southern end of the Belvedere Palace grounds. We visited Vienna in May 2009 and stumbled upon the garden (I am an avid gardener, but was not able to find anything about the garden on the web prior to our trip).

    Based on information provided by the head gardener (Michael Knaack), the garden covers 2500 m2 (about 0.7 acres), but houses over 4,000 plant varieties, most of which are native either to alpine regions around the world and to regions of the Austro-Hungarian empire of the 19th century. The original plant collection was started in the early 19th century by Archduke Johann, the brother of Austrian Emperor Franz I. During the latter half of the 19th century, it was moved from Schonbrunn Palace (the original garden site) to Belvedere. The original garden suffered from the two World Wars and was closed until 1949. It is currently maintained by the Austrian Federal Garden Adminstration.

    The garden is neatly laid out in raised beds with gravel paths, and includes mixed plantings of herbaceous and woody plants, interspersed with small water features. If you are interested in rock gardening, this is a must visit garden.

    Just to the north of the Alpengarten is a botanical garden operated by the University of Vienna. Unfortunately, it was closed on the day we visited, but also appears to be horiticuluturally worthwhile.

    The other gardens at Belvedere are Italian style. They may appeal to many, but are less unique than the Alpengarten. Additional information about the garden is available in German at http://www.bundesgaerten.at/article/articleview/62771/1/17606

    (4.0/5)

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