Vienna - Hofburg Imperial palace

Date: 12th April 2014

Group photo in the main courtyard of the palace, snapped by Navistar

When we reached the end of the square, (Stephanplatz) we took a left turn and found a deniably most beautiful small fountain and rich white grandeur buildings that took our breath away. It was a beautiful entrance to the Hofburg Imperial Palace huge compound that we found incidentally. Allah has worked some magic for us that day in finding our way into this beautiful crafted buildings.

Hofburg Palace is a palace that has housed some of the most powerful people in European and Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburgs' principal winter residence, as the Schonbrunn Palace was their preferred summer residence.

The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279 for various empires and republics. The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries to include various residences (with the Amalienburg), the Imperial Chapel (Hofkapelle or Burgkapelle), the Naturhistorisches Museum and Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Austrian National Library (Hofbibliothek), the Imperial Treasury (Schatzkammer), the Burgtheater, the Spanish Riding School (Hofreitschule), the Imperial Horse Stables (Stallburg and Hofstallungen), and the Hofburg Congress Center. It is rather a huge complex surround the main palace itself.

The Hofburg faces the Heldenplatz ordered under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph, as part of what was to become a Kaiserforum that was never completed.

Numerous architects have executed work at the Hofburg as it expanded, notably the Italian architect-engineer Filiberto Luchese (the Leopoldischiner Trakt), Lodovico Burnacini and Martino and Domenico Carlone, the Baroque architects Lukas von Hildebrandt and Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (the Reichschancelry Wing and the Winter Riding School), Johann Fischer von Erlach (the library), and the architects of the grandiose Neue Burg built between 1881 and 1913.

Statue of Emperor Joseph II at the Joseph Square

The following are list of buildings becoming part of the whole Hofburg Imperial palace complex:-

1. Swiss Wing
2. Stallburg
3. Amalienburg
4. Leopold Wing
5. Imperial Chancellory Wing
6. Imperial Library
7. Augustinian Wing
8. Redouten Wing
9. St. Michael's Wing
10. The Ceremonial Hall - Montoyer Wing
11. Heldenplatz
12. Neue Burg and Montoyer Wing
13. Joseph Square
14. Museums of the Hofburg
15. HOFBURG Vienna - Convention Center
16. Festsaal - Festival Hall
17. Zeremoniensaal - Ceremonial Hall
18. Mamorsaal - Marble Hall
19. Geheime Ratstube - Privy Council Room
20. Antekammer - Anterroom
21. Radetzky- Appartements - Radetzky Apartements
22. Rittersaal - Knight's Hall
23. Trabantenstube - Guard Room
24. Redoutensaele
25. The contemporary Hofburg

A special function was held in the palace that we guesses from the crowded peoples and traffics at the Joseph Square that day. I'm sharing some of the selected photos that I snapped before we adjourned to  Rathaus city hall which is visible from the palace.

It's a hectic fasting month as we are now towards the last 10 days of the glorious month, hence I'm very slow in writing down our traveling journal due to time constraint. I hope to finish all places of interests in Vienna in the month of July. August is the exam month and for my new team to shift to a new office. Thank you for reading and keep coming back to my page. I really appreciate all of the page views that I monitor daily.