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| The Augarten Palace |
The Augarten Palace or ‘Palais Augarten’ is a striking Baroque palace
nestled in an old Jewish district of Vienna. It now serves as a boarding school
for the Boys’ Choir of Vienna, and had retained its original sweeping
appearance, decoration, and furnishings despite extensive damage caused by the
Second World War.
The
palace was designed and built in Austria’s popular Baroque period, nestled in a
beautifully landscaped park that exists to this day. The Palace was a well-used
place, and even featured a salon where some big names in music such as Wagner
and Liszt came to hang out. Great balls for 18th and 19th century aristocrats
to dance the night away at were commonplace, and the largest party ever to be
held Augarten Palace was the 1873 Viennese World Fair.
In the
20th century, the palace was occupied by the Austrian chancellor
before being badly damaged in the war. Since 1948, however, the world famous
Vienna Boys’ Choir has lived, practiced, and performed here, although the
building itself is state owned.
The
grounds contain a lively market, restaurant, and beautiful gardens as well as
the palace and concert hall that was opened in 2012 especially for the choir. You
will also find a porcelain museum and studio of contemporary art. The porcelain
manufactory holds morning tours that many deem to be a hidden delight of their
visit to the Palais Augarten. You can see the whole porcelain making process,
and watch artists hard at work with their tiny brushes. Saturdays are an
especially busy time in this area of Vienna, as the markets swell and tourists
and locals gather to eat, drink and enjoy the landscape. An experience you will
definitely find hard to beat on your wonderful trip to the Austrian capital.
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