What Can You Expect to See at the Essl Museum?

The Essl museum is considered to be an important part of Austrian heritage and cultural history. The main body of the not-for-profit collection is Post-War Austrian art, and in this striking, angular building you can find 7 galleries with over 7,000 pieces of artwork. A huge range of artists from Austria and elsewhere are displayed here, but the collections often show us much more of one artist than many galleries tend to, so if you find someone you like, you’re in for a real treat.

Founded by Karlheinz and Agnes Essl, the collection has become something of great international value. The couple have been collecting contemporary European art together for decades, much of which captures the tumultuous spirit of the second half of the 20^th century. The collection has even expanded to include art from as far as Australia, South America, and Asia. New art and young artists are also accounted for in the ‘Emerging Artists’ exhibition.

Though the museum is privately owned, the entry prices really are extraordinarily low considering how much you see. The museum is purpose built and placed in a beautiful part of Austria, just outside Vienna on the banks of the Danube; the whole place is a treat to the senses, not to mention the restaurant! Enjoy a guided tour, have a look around the library, stroll through the landscaped surroundings, and even take a book home from the bookshop. 

The Essl’s are extremely passionate about contemporary art and their impressive collection; they want to share their excellent knowledge, and love of all things ‘art’ (especially paintings). That’s why the place is so reasonably priced, not to mention the free shuttle bus and free entry for students. The museum is also open relatively late, and is easy to reach by U-Bahn and public bus.

See http://www.essl.museum/
 

The Vienna Boys' Choir

The Vienna Boys' Choir dates back to the middle ages, formally established in 1498 for the Viennese to accompany the church masses. It is now one of the most famous Boys' choirs in the world. Most of their 100 singers are Austrian, although some boys will be selected from countries across the world. They perform about 300 concerts each year before almost 500,000 people, and each of the four choir groups, named after famous Austrian composers, tour for several months a year.

Today, the Augartenpalais serves as a boarding school for the Vienna Boys' Choir and historically the choirboys receive a solid musical education. The choir has therefore produced many a famous musical personality, such as the composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert, and conductors Richter, Mottl, Tintner and Krauss. The Palace has welcomed dozens of esteemed visitors including Brahms, Wagner, and even Tsar Alexander II.

If you’re in the Austrian capital it’s often possible to see the choir sing. They perform regularly on Sundays at the Hofburg Chapel where you can hear their voices drift down from the upper balcony during mass. Understandably, the church mass can become crowded, and the performance is part of a general service. In order to see the Vienna Boys’ Choir in their full splendour, try and get tickets (well in advance!) to a show at their very own Music and Theatre (MuTh) concert hall right next to the Augartenpalais.

The boys choir tours the world and sends shivers down the spines of hundreds of audiences, but where better to see them than in their home town of Vienna, surrounded by their rich musical heritage and history. Even if you don’t usually enjoy music of this genre, these angelic and ghostly performances in the heart of Vienna are simply not to be missed. Enjoy!

The Tranquil and Famous Mirabelle Gardens in Salzburg

Famous Mirabelle Gardens in Salzburg

In the city of Salzburg, lies the Mirabelle Palace built in 1606. The palace was damaged by the great fire that swept through the city on 30 April 1818, but the truly grand marble staircase that led into the palace, and the marble hall survive to this day. Today the palace houses the mayoral and council offices, but the Marble Hall (formerly the prince-archbishops' ballroom and concert venue) is often considered to be one of the most beautiful wedding halls in the world.

 More famous than the palace itself is the surrounding Mirabelle gardens. The gardens house countless sculptures, statues, and fountains, and you are bound to see something new and interesting at every turn – things like the Dwarf Garden, full of grotesquely deformed dwarfs!

Another famous resident of the gardens is the Grand Parterre, the oldest part of the grounds. Here you will find a plethora of Roman gods dating back to 1689. Moving forward, the large Pegasus fountain, once a centrepiece of the gardens, was installed in 1913 and surrounded by much older sculptures that represent the elements, the copper fountain is a sight to behold and well worth visiting

Another very beautiful part of the gardens is the Rose Hill, come up here for a striking view of the grounds and the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It is best to come here in the day time, however, as the spot is a well-known place for naughty meet ups in the evenings, and you may be privy to less pleasant views!

Summer time in Salzburg's Mirabelle Palace and gardens

 The Mirabelle Gardens were first opened to the public in 1854. For hundreds of years people have come to enjoy them, but it is only in recent years that you find people singing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ while running through the hedge tunnel. For those of you with a theatrical flair, the Hedge Theatre is one of the oldest of its kind, and is still used for performances today, including concerts for the Salzburg Festival. While many come to recreate scenes from The Sound of Music, today the gardens are a horticultural masterpiece in their own right, and serve as a popular backdrop for weddings and photographers.

The Story of Gustav Klimt the Painter

Gustav Klimt July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918

Few people go through life without hearing his name or seeing his painting ‘The Kiss’. Gustav Klimt was an Austrian artist born in 1862 just outside of Vienna. He was a symbolist painter whose pieces were often considered pornographic at the time, and he was certainly fond of the female form, fathering upwards of fourteen children.

Klimt was commissioned to create public art only once, for the ceiling of the Great Hall of the University of Vienna; however, many officials reacted with shock and horror to his piece which never went up. The 3 separate paintings hung in a gallery until they were all destroyed by the retreating SS forces during World War Two

Growing up Klimt idolised another very popular Viennese painter Hans Makart, and was awarded a scholarship to the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. He went his own way, however, when he moved on to the Vienna art scene and became one of the founding members of the ‘Wiener Sezession’ (Vienna Secession) in 1897. This was a group of artists who couldn’t stand the conservative nature of the art scene, regulated by the Association of Austrian Artists. Klimt became the first president of this new and pioneering group, who made waves across Vienna with the slogan ‘To every age its art, to art its freedom’. Similar secession movements were even set up in Berlin and Munich. The group held its very first exhibition in Vienna in 1898, but the heady days of dissident art came to an end in 1905 due to differences of artistic opinion between the Naturalists, Realists, and Symbolists.

"The Kiss" painted between 1908 to 1909

After the Secession years, Klimt really found success, using the period signature gold leaf, and receiving first prize in the world exhibitions in Rome. Klimt continued to work up until suffering a fatal stroke on February 6, 1918. He was buried at the Hietzing Cemetery in Vienna. He left behind one of the most impressive artistic legacies to date, with his portrait ‘Adele Bloch-Bauer I’ selling for $135 million - the highest price ever recorded for a painting.

The Danube Tower of Vienna

The Danube Tower of Vienna

The ‘Vienna Donauturm’ or Danube Tower was built in 1964 and has since become an integral part of the Vienna skyline. As a popular tourist viewing point, the tower has over 450,000 visitors a year. Rising for 252 meters from the greenery of the Donaupark, the tower looks over the bank of Europe’s second longest river, the Danube. The park and gardens around the tower are relaxing and lovely to walk through, and there is a beer garden situated at the base of the tower, so give yourself some time to reach the main attraction. 

776 steps lead to the Donauturm viewing platform; but don’t worry, if you aren’t up for the climb there are two elevators to help you out. These travel 150 meters in just 35 seconds. Although once the site of a tragic air-balloon accident in 1968, the platform now serves as what I’m sure is a very safe bungee site for some of the thrill seekers among you! Rather you than me – I have to say!

The Danube Tower isn’t just a pretty place, it serves as a communication tower, and is also home to not one, but two revolving restaurants! The ‘Panorama’ and ‘Isola’ restaurants sit above the viewing platform, and from here you can gaze over the old Austrian capital and the Vienna woods from one of the tallest buildings in the city. 

View of the Danube Tower from a distance

You’ll need to call ahead and book a table during the summer months, and pay a fee to enter the tower; however if you time your meal to coincide with the sunset it will all definitely be well worth it. Enjoy some excellent Austrian delicacies here, but perhaps leave it a while before hitting the bungee ropes.

The Danube Tower of Vienna really is a great tourist attraction in its own right; but it also serves as one of the most fashionable eating establishments in the city with a view that really is to die for.