!!!Belvedere

Belvedere (3%%sup rd/%  district in Vienna), name of the summer 
residence which Prince  Eugène of Savoy erected between Rennweg 
street and Schweizergarten park. The name dates back to the rule of 
Maria Theresia and refers to the magnificent view over Vienna.

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In 1697, Prince Eugène bought a plot of land adjoining Rennweg, 
which he enlarged to today's size in four stages until 1721. The Lower 
Belvedere was constructed between 1714 and 1716. It is a long, 
one-storey building composed of a seven-window projecting central 
part, two wings and two corner pavilions. The three-window central 
pavilion houses a marble hall. Prince Eugène did not spend much 
time in Vienna, and he used the palace as a summer residence. 
Construction of the Upper Belvedere commenced in 1720, first drawings 
had been made in 1717. Compared with the Lower Belvedere in terms of 
size and the language of form, the Upper Belvedere displays much more 
grandeur. It served as a representative setting for grand receptions 
and festivities. As the construction archives of Prince Eugène 
of Savoy have been lost, no complete history of construction is 
available. Construction of the Upper Belvedere was completed in 1723 
(according to Rizzi in 1721-1722). Belvedere Palace is the chief work 
of the architect J. L. von  Hildebrandt, who worked for 
Prince Eugène on several occasions. Its manifold architectural 
forms and sculptural structure make it one of the most prominent 
Baroque buildings of the 18%%sup th/%  century. The garden between the 
two buildings, created by the Bavarian landscape gardener D. Girard 
has only been preserved in its basic outlines. The interior of the 
palace was designed by C. le Fort du Plessy. After the death of the 
Prince, the Belvedere was taken over by his sole heiress, Duchess 
Viktoria of Saxony-Hildburghausen. She sold it in 1752 to Maria 
Theresia. In 1775, Joseph II ordered the imperial picture gallery 
to be transferred to the palace, which was opened to the public for 
the first time in 1781. From 1806 the Lower Belvedere was also the 
home of the art collection from Ambras Palace. Both collections were 
moved to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1890. In 1894, the palace 
became the residence of the successor to the Austrian throne, Archduke 
 Franz Ferdinand. After World War I, the Austrian Gallery 
(Oesterreichische Galerie) found its new home in the palace. The 
Belvedere was severely damaged in1945, and in 1950 the so-called Gold 
Cabinet housed in the north-eastern corner pavilion of the Upper 
Belvedere fell victim to a fire and was reconstructed according to the 
original plans. General reconstruction and renovation work began in 
1988 and is still under way.


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