Might as well say it quickly: Some people here believe the Hofburg is bigger than Vienna–and even bigger than all of Austria. After you`ve been in and around the Hofburg for a while, you begin to think they may be right. When here, it`s every tourist`s obligation to let the Hofburg woo you into its accommodating embrace.
Dominating downtown Vienna with architectural authority, the Hofburg is the former winter residence of Austria`s emperors. A sprawling complex with eclectic art styles, this gigantic open-air museum encompasses sundry large and small museums, the Imperial Apartments, the Spanish Riding School, the Hofburg Chapel, the Treasury, two churches, ballrooms, shops, offices and congress` conference chambers–all spread over 240,000 square meters and including 18 wings, 19 courtyards, 54 staircases, 2,600 rooms and a three-story wine cellar. This maze, which is like a child`s set of nesting blocks, all fitting together neatly to form a city within a city with a surprise at every turn, is a gigantic tourist treat.
Walking through the grandiose entrance, Michaelertor, flanked on either side by two fountains that represent sea and land power, you are beckoned to see for yourself the Imperial Apartments, for seven centuries the home of the royal families of Austria. Only 20 rooms are open to public view, but they are eye-openers, stunningly decorated with precious rugs, Gobelin wall hangings, brocaded furniture, magnificent paintings and porcelain stoves–everything giving you the lowdown on the life and times of the formal regal residents.
(The president of the Austrian Republic lives in the Hofburg and has his office and reception rooms there.)
Among the luminaries who lived in the Hofburg were Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled for 40 years and raised her 16 children here (of whom Maria Antoinette was the most famous and infamous French Revolution Queen of France), and Empress Elisabeth, who lost her life to an assassin`s dagger. She left her imprint on her private living quarters when, to maintain her figure, she set up exercise bars for gymnastics next to her bedroom, a sight aerobic enthusiasts can appreciate. Elisabeth–or Sissy, as she was affectionately known to her subjects–was generally considered one of the most beautiful monarchs of all time.
From here a quick visit to the Imperial Treasury is an unexpected surprise because there are more than diamond tiaras and sapphires to put a sparkle into your eyes–the Imperial Needlework in the form of embroidered robes, banners and church vestments, many dating back to the mid-15th Century, are truly paintings in petit point. The gold and silver jewels pack a wallop, of course, because the collection spans more than 1,000 years. But two items deserve a long look–the cradle belonging to the baby-king, son of Napoleon, and the Holy Lance, purportedly the lance thrust into Jesus` side and which holds a holy nail from the cross. It`s all history in 360-degree dimension, and that`s what the Hofburg is about.
But before you go any farther, chances are you are wondering how such an enormous operation as the Imperial Hofburg is run, and when you find out that it is the place of daily employment for more than 5,000 people, you begin to realize the magnitude of the operation. It is a kind of wonderland because with almost a wave of a wand it changes, chameleon-like, from a meeting place and congress center by day to elegant chambers for sumptuous banquets and dances at night.
This is accomplished by maintaining the halls in all their historical details and affording a wide variety of dinner, buffet and bar facilities that are catered by Vienna`s Inter-Continental. It`s thanks to the hotel`s inventive chief pastry cook, Hannes Ehrenreiter, that the palatial enclave can boast of a delicacy that bears its name and carries on the tradition of Vienna`s world-wide pastry fame. Called the Wiener Hofburg Torte, it is a magic blend of delicate sponge cake, marzipan, Grand-Marnier-dipped prunes and roasted hazelnuts, held together in a soft chocolate cream and enveloped in a fine chocolate coating. Since its creation in 1983, the Hofburg Torte–the secret recipe of which is protected by federal copyright–has found its way to all parts and hearts of the world.
Another kind of icing on the Hofburg cake is certainly the Sunday mass at the Hofburg Chapel. As Catholic masses go, it rates a unique distinction. Because it draws Protestants, Jews and people of all other religions who compete just as assiduously as Catholics for the limited number of seats, there may not exist anywhere a Catholic Church that, on a Sunday morning, will attract so many non-Catholics to its highest religious service.
On Sundays, from September through June, the chapel truly constitutes one of Vienna`s biggest blockbuster tourist attractions, making that ticket the hottest one in town. Works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Haydn are offered with love in the tiny but beautiful Hofburg Chapel by a powerful lineup of performers that include the Vienna Boys` Choir, an orchestra of musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic or the Vienna Symphony, prominent opera stars who may happen to be in town, the male chorus of the Vienna State Opera and eminent conductors from all over the continent.
If you have a yen to see some of the musical instruments actually played by famous composers, you will find them in the museum of musical instruments in the Neue Hofburg flanking one side of the gigantic inner square, the Heldenplatz. Take special note of the collection of pianos belonging to Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Clara and Robert Schumann, Liszt and Haydn (that`s only a few of the bigs of the composing fraternity).
Retrace your steps to the Michaelerplatz to the Spanish Riding School. Seeing the white Lipizzaners rehearsing on weekday mornings is rather easy, but getting a ticket to the full performance on a Sunday morning requires effort and advanced planning. The royal stables, which you can visit in the afternoons across the road from the riding school, are the home of the Lipizzaner horses. It is in one of the finest Renaissance buildings in Vienna, which also houses the former Imperial apothecary instituted by Empress Maria Theresa in 1746 so that the palace staff and courtiers could obtain their medicines free of charge.
At this point continue on to the adjacent New Gallery of Art containing Renoir nudes, a self-portrait of Van Gogh and works by Delacroix, Monet, Courbet, Cezanne and Edvard Munch. Keep wandering to the Josefplatz and to the stunning Prunksaal (a part of the National Library), one of the most majestic Baroque libraries in the world. Truly a castle of books housed under a superbly frescoed dome, the Prunksaal has the distinction of owning more priceless manuscripts than any other library except that of the Vatican. It is, in every sense of the word, the world`s most exquisitely beautiful library.
From here, going down the Augustinerstrasse, do not overlook the Church of the Augustinians and the Albertina, with what is probably the best collection of drawings and engravings anywhere (nearly 1 million altogether)
that include the works of Albrecht Durer.
Last but not least, take a guided tour to one of the most unforgettable attractions, the Capuchins` Crypt, which for more than 300 years has been the burial site of the imperial family. By last count, there are 12 emperors, 16 empresses and more than 100 archdukes interred in the crypt. Their hearts, by the way, are deposited in 54 urns in another part of the Hofburg, the 14th-Century Church of the Augustinians where many court weddings were held.
The lineup of decorated coffins is awesome, but the curiosity is that one of them does not belong to the Hapsburg family. The story behind this is that Countess Fuchs was accorded this most unusual honor by Maria Theresa because the empress was raised by Fuchs and adored her. The empress and her husband lie in a double sarcophagus, ornamented with the busts of the royal couple placed opposite each other as a symbolic flourish.
As the center of Imperial Vienna, the Hofburg recounts the history of Austria, tells about its traditions and its people and thus reveals its soul. Every stone is the foundation of the republic.
