Winterpalais

Winterpalais is a high-Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria, first built as Prince Eugene of Savoy’s winter residence. Its façade has twelve bays and three portals. Tall principal-floor windows sit between colossal pilasters, while decorative balconies and balustrades complete the exterior. Bas-reliefs replace conventional columns around the entrance. One relief shows Hercules fighting the giant Antaeus, while another depicts Aeneas carrying his father from burning Troy.

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach began the project around 1695, designing the seven-bay structure and elaborate staircase. Kaiserstein forms the steps, beside sculptures by Giovanni Giuliani. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt later completed the Gold Cabinet, Blue Salon, chapel, and gallery. Blue Salon frescoes came from Marcantonio Chiarini. The palace expanded eastward in 1708 and westward in 1719, enlarging the residence and adding further Baroque rooms. Prince Eugene died in 1736, leaving Anna Viktoria the property. Maria Theresa acquired it for the imperial court in 1738, after Anna Viktoria offered the inherited palace at auction. Pacassi then adapted it for state institutions. From 1848 until 1918, it housed the finance ministry of the Austrian Empire, continuing that role from 1919.

A bombing raid in April 1945 damaged the roof, attic, and a ceiling painting by Ludovico Dorigny. Experts from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna later restored that painting. Renovations from 2007 to 2013 preceded the opening of the main state-apartment rooms as a Belvedere exhibition venue. Visitors encounter the staircase, Gold Cabinet, and Blue Salon. Together, the paired portal scenes, stone steps, oil paintings, and frescoes preserve a concentrated record of the palace’s changing roles.