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The Imperial Palace was completed in the year 1500 under Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519). The palace was built to the same scale as is seen today and was captured as a watercolour by Albrecht Dürer. he painting shows a late Gothic courtyard with covered staircase, a Crest Tower and the women’s quarters (or “women’s rooms”). The reception area, which is known today as the “Gothic Cellar”, was built in the style of a large hall with columns and vaults. A “Kürnstube” (home to Maximilian’s hunting trophies), the “Silver chamber” (treasury) and the Festival Hall (with depictions of Hercules) are also reminders of the time.
The “Rennplatz” square in front of the Imperial Palace served as a competition arena to please the sports-loving Emperor.
Almost 250 years later, Maria Theresa (1717-1780) visited the Innsbruck palace and deemed it to be behind the times. There hadn’t been any Tyrolean princes since 1665 and the governor, who reigned Tyrol on behalf of the Emperor, lived in the governor’s quarters on the first floor. The representation rooms on the second floor, which were reserved for the Imperial family, were uninhabited. Maria Theresa arranged for the palace to be rebuilt in the Viennese late Baroque style and sent her best artists to Innsbruck: Konstantin von Walter and Nicolaus Parcassi. Martin van Meytens and his school and Franz Anton Maulbertsch were appointed for the interior. The renovations were interrupted by the Seven Years’ War and, therefore, only completed in the 1770s. https://www.innsbruck.info/en/sightseeing/sightseeing/historical-buildings/detail/infrastruktur/imperial-palace-innsbruck.html
Vienna's Imperial Palace is one of the biggest palace complexes in the world. The oldest parts date to the 13th century, with construction having continued right into the 20th century. The Imperial Palace was the residence and seat of government of the Habsburg emperors until 1918. Today, it is home to numerous museums with outstanding collections, the Spanish Riding School, a congress center, the seat of the Austrian Federal President as well as the historic Heldenplatz. https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/imperial/hofburg-vienna
The universe is in Graz! It’s no joke, but rather a wonderful example of harmonious architectural skill: Eggenberg Palace on the edge of the city centre. Set within a beautiful park is the main palace, which was laid out as an architectural allegory of the universe. The building represents a precisely calculated cosmos. It was commissioned by Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg from the year 1625 to embody his wish for a harmonious structure, reacting to the chaos of the 16th century.
365 windows, 31 rooms on each floor, 24 state rooms with 52 doors and, in all, 60 windows, 4 corner towers - all allusions to time, to the seasons, to weeks, days, hours, minutes. This number symbolism based on the then new Gregorian calendar is the architectural programme of the palace. Also the paintings in the Planetensaal (Planet Hall), whose decoration was started in 1678, are characterized by astronomical symbolism. https://www.graztourismus.at/en/see-and-do/sightseeing/sights/eggenberg-palace_sh-1199
The former summer residence of the Habsburgs impresses with imperial ceremonial rooms and magnificent gardens. Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Elisabeth and others once resided here.
Schönbrunn Palace is one of Europe's most beautiful Baroque complexes and has been in the possession of the Habsburgs since 1569. The wife of Emperor Ferdinand II, Eleonore von Gonzaga, had a pleasure palace built on the site in 1642 and called the property "Schönbrunn" for the first time. The palace and garden complex created from 1696 onwards following the siege of Vienna was complete redesigned under Maria Theresa after 1743. Today, due to its historical significance, its unique layout and magnificent furnishings, the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site. https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/imperial/schoenbrunn-palace