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Vienna

Augarten Palace and Park (Augarten-Palais und Park)

The Augarten palace residence is located in Leopoldstadt, the second district of Vienna. It was built as a small hunting mansion with a hunting park under the rule of Emperor Matthias in 1614. The adjacent gardens and parks were bought by Ferdinand III and Leopold I.

In 1677, Leopold I began to build a summer palace on the site of the former park of Ernst Graf von Trautson. Initially named “Imperial Favorita” (Kaiserliche Favorita), it was later renamed to “Old Favorita” (Alte Favorita). A huge palace garden (with an area of 52.2 hectares) was created to become the first Baroque park in Vienna. The palace was almost completely destroyed and the park facilities were ruined during the Second Siege of Vienna in 1683. It was only in the late 17th century that the palace began to be restored to the design of Austrian architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.

It is here, in the park, that Peter I met Joseph I, the eldest son of Emperor Leopold I at 5 o’clock in the afternoon on June 28/July 8, 1698. According to the Ceremonial Records, Peter I wanted to have a separate meeting with the young king and was offered to choose between the three summer residences: the Favorita, the Augarten or the Schönbrunn. The Tsar chose the Augarten which he had not visited before. The meeting was attended by General Franz Lefort, Fyodor Golovin, Prokofiy Voznitsin and two other members of the Grand Embassy whose names are not mentioned. The conversation lasted for about 10 minutes, with Lefort interpreting. Then, Peter apparently viewed the ruins of the palace and the park which he had chosen as a venue for the meeting with the express purpose of seeing it.

The palace and park ensemble was finally restored in 1705. During the reign of Charles VI, architect Jean Trehet developed the park in the French style. Joseph II opened the park to the public. Since 1782, the park has regularly hosted the so-called “morning concerts” with music performed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and later by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss.

After the World War II, the Augarten Palace was used to house a school of the Vienna Boys’ Choir (Wiener Sängerknaben), and the former Baroque park hall currently houses the museum of the famous Vienna porcelain factory.

Augarten Palace and Park (Augarten-Palais und Park)

Address:

Obere Augarten 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria
Obere Augarten 1, 1020 Wien, Österreich