Architectural, Cultural sights in Vienna
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A
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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B
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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C
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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D
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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E
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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F
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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G
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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H
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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I
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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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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