Architectural, Cultural sights in Austria
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Sigmund Freud Museum
Sigmund Freud is a bit like the telephone – once it happened, there was no going back. The apartment where he lived and worked from 1891 till his forced departure from Vienna with the arrival of the Nazis in 1938 is now a museum devoted to the father of psychoanalysis. It contains a number of his possessions, and Freud’s obsessions – travelling, smoking and collecting ancient art – are well represented; Egyptian and Buddhist statues are everywhere. Notes (in English) illuminate the offerings and audio guides (€2) are available at the ticket desk.
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Hitler's Geburtshaus
Not far from the Torturm is Hitler's Geburtshaus; born in 1889, he only spent two years of his life here before moving with his family to Linz. The inscription outside his birth house simply reads Für Frieden Freiheit und Demokratie, nie wieder Faschismus, millionen Tote Mahnen (For peace, freedom and democracy, never again fascism, millions of dead admonish).
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Mozarts Geburtshaus
Mozarts Geburtshaus is where Mozart spent the first 17 years of his life. In the first room, the holy Wolfgang is shown as a babe beneath a fluorescent blue halo. Other curiosities include the mini-violin that Amadeus played as a toddler, plus a lock of his hair and buttons from his jacket.
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Mozart-Wohnhaus
The Mozart-Wohnhaus takes a more hi-tech approach, with an audio guide giving the low-down on the Mozart family and serenading you with opera excerpts.
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Kaiserappartements
The Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments) were once the official living quarters of Franz Josef I and Empress Elisabeth (or Sisi as she was affectionately named). The first section, known as the Sisi Museum, is devoted to Austria’s most beloved empress. It has a strong focus on the clothing and jewellery of Austria’s monarch. Audio guides – available in 11 languages – are also included in the admission price. Admission including a tour of either the Silberkammer or the Sisi Museum and Kaiserappartements costs €12.40 for adults, €11.40 for students and €6.90 for children.
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Ernst Fuchs Privat Museum
This small museum about 2km north of the U4 Hütteldorf stop is devoted to Ernst Fuchs’ fantastical paintings, etchings and sculptures. The works have a, shall we say, drug-induced look about them, and what may be more interesting to the visitor is the villa housing the collection. Built by Wagner in 1888, it was saved from ruin by Fuchs and restored to its former glory in 1972. In the gardens (visible from the road) are some interesting statues, ceramics and the ornate Brunnenhaus created by Fuchs.
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Unteres Belvedere
Built between 1714 and 1716, Lower Belvedere is a treat of baroque delights. Highlights include Prince Eugene’s former residential apartment and ceremonial rooms, the Groteskensaal (Hall of the Grotesque; now the museum shop), a second Marmorsaal (Marble Hall), the Marmorgalerie (Marble Gallery) and the Goldenes Zimmer (Golden Room). Audio guides in English cost €3.50. Often it’s only open between 10am and noon due to lack of staff.
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Schubert Sterbewohnung
Here, in his brother’s apartment, Franz Schubert spent his dying days (40 to be precise) in 1828. While dying of either typhoid fever or syphilis he continued to compose, scribbling out a string of piano sonatas and his last work, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock). The apartment (Schubert’s Death Apartment) is fairly bereft of personal effects but does document these final days with some interesting Schubi knick-knacks and sounds.
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Johann Strauss Residence
Strauss the Younger called Praterstrasse 54 home from 1863 to 1878 and composed the waltz, ‘The Blue Danube’ , under its high ceilings. Inside you’ll find an above-average collection of Strauss and ballroom memorabilia, including an Amati violin said to have belonged to him and oil paintings from his last apartment, which was destroyed during WWII. The rooms are bedecked in period furniture from Strauss’ era. The residence is a municipal museum.
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Schubert Geburtshaus
The house where Schubert was born in 1797, in the kitchen, was known at that time as Zum roten Krebsen (The Red Crab). Apart from his trademark glasses, the house is rather short on objects. But ‘Schubertologists’ might like to trek here, especially to catch the occasional concert. Bizarrely, a couple of rooms of the house are given over to Adalbert Stifter (1805–68) and his Biedermeier paintings. The two men had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
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Schloss Mirabell
The 17th-century Schloss Mirabell was built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich for his mistress Salome Alt, who bore the archbishop at least 10 children (sources disagree on the exact number - poor Wolf was presumably too distracted by spiritual matters to keep count himself). The best way to experience the Mirabell magic is to attend a lunchtime or evening concert in the palace's magnificent Marble Hall, which boasts chandeliers and wall reliefs.
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Hermesvilla
The Hermesvilla was commissioned by Franz Josef I and presented to his wife as a gift. Built by Karl von Hasenauer between 1882 and 1886, with Klimt and Makart on board as interior decorators, the villa is plush – it’s more a mansion than simply a ‘villa’. Empress Elisabeth’s bedroom is well over the top, with the walls and ceiling covered in motifs from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hermesvilla is a municipal museum.
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Hofburg
The state apartments are a rococo feast, adorned with gold swirls and chandeliers, but the real eye-catcher is the 31m-long Riesensaal (Giant’s Hall). The hall is embellished with frescoes and paintings of Maria Theresia and her 16 children (including Marie Antoinette), who look strangely identical –maybe the artist was intent on avoiding royal wrath arising from sibling rivalry in the beauty stakes.
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Haydnhaus
Though modest, the exhibition in Joseph Haydn’s last residence was revamped in 2009 and focuses on Vienna as well as London during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He composed The Creation and The Seasons under its roof. Haydn lived in Vienna during the heady times of Napoleon’s occupation. His small garden, open to the public, is modelled on the original.
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ResidenzTTT
The Residenz was the not-so-humble dwelling of the archbishops until the 19th century. An audio guide tour takes in the unashamedly opulent state rooms, festooned with tapestries and frescoes by Johann Michael Rottmayr, and the Konferenz Saal, where Mozart gave his first public performance (Violin Concerto No 5 in A Major) at the ripe old age of six.
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Wappensaal
The ceiling of the Wappensaal has a trompe l’oeil gallery painted by Carinthian artist Josef Ferdinand Fromiller (1693–1760), and depicting Carinthian landowners paying homage to Charles VI. Stand in the centre of the room for the best effect.
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Beethovenhaus
Back in the town centre, one of the houses Beethoven stayed in has inevitably been turned into the Beethovenhaus with little to actually see; nearby, though, is the Dreifaltig-keitssäule, dating from 1714, dominating the Hauptplatz.
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Haus Der Salome Alt
Haus der Salome Alt takes its name from one-time occupant Salome Alt, mistress of Salzburg’s Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich. The illusionary red-and-cream Renaissance façade stretches back to the serene flower gardens fringing Burg Wels.
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Beethovenhaus
Beethoven’s residence from 1804 to 1814 (he apparently occupied some 60 places in his 35 years in Vienna) where he composed Symphonies 4, 5 and 7 and the opera Fidelio, among other works. You can listen to works and view some memorabilia.
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Kornmesserhaus
The 1499 Kornmesserhaus symbolises the wealth of Austrian burghers in the late 15th century. It brings together Gothic and some Renaissance features and was based on the design of a Venetian palace.
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Minoritenkirche
Turning into Klosterstrasse, you'll spy the sleek grey-and-white façade of the 13th-century Minoritenkirche, famed for its rococo stuccowork and frescoes (the brushwork of Bartlomeo Altomonte).
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Residenz Galerie
The admission covers the Residenz Galerie, which features a superb collection of Dutch and Flemish works, including a clutch of masterpieces from the likes of Rembrandt and Rubens.
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Mozarthaus
Appreciate the Renaissance architecture of Mozarthaus where Amadeus composed the Linzer Sinfonie in 1783, before soaking up the ambience in the Altstadt's maze of cobbled streets.
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Rotes Haus
Wandering around Dornbirn's Marktplatz, you'll spot the crooked, 17th-century Rotes Haus, which owes its beautiful blush to an unappetising mix of ox blood and bile.
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Franz Schubert’s house
Worth a peek is Franz Schubert’s house, where he found inspiration to pen the Trout Quintet.
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