Seite - 268 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Band 1

Chapter 5268 31 Gasteiger’s career and his role in the water supply of the Stallburg and the Neugebäude is discussed in Lietzmann 1987, pp. 136–139. Lietzmann rightly stresses that Gasteiger un- dertook these huge projects as a private contractor, rather than as an Imperial official. He did so to the great satisfaction of his patrons: he was ennobled by Ferdinand i in 1561, and Maximilian granted him the freehold of a substantial house in Vienna. 32 Discussed in detail below, Ch. #5.3.1.# note that these were trifles compared to Gasteiger’s more general respon- sibilities: as a civil engineer and contractor he was charged with many huge projects, including the water supply of Vienna, the regulation of the Danube— which he rendered navigable with the help of dredging-machinery of his own invention—and similar projects in the valley of the river Enns. In view of Maximilian’s early interest, it is likely that he followed or even supervised such projects closely.31 5.2.3 The Prince as Architect: Education and Literary Sources Maximilian’s projects for Valladolid suggest that he preferred the more peace- ful applications of engineering, as do the gardens he had laid out in and around Vienna. The first of these dated from long before his accession, and even from before the arrival of Strada at court. In about 1556 Maximilian built a small hunting lodge and laid out a garden in the Prater, now a famous park of attractions, but then an island in the Danube across from Vienna covered in woods and rich in game [Fig. 5.65].32 The location, function and particularly the quite distinctive cruciform ground plan of this ‘grüne Lusthaus’—a green leisure pavilion—remind one immediately of the star-shaped hunting lodge, Hvězda, constructed at exactly the same time in a very similar spot, the hunt- ing grounds of the White Mountain just outside Prague [Fig. 5.22–5.24]. This small country house, officially named Zum goldenen Stern, was com- missioned by Maximilian’s younger brother, Archduke Ferdinand. According to contemporary sources it was designed by the Archduke himself.33 This raises the question in how far such a claim can be taken seriously, and if so, whether at the Prater Maximilian may have been his own architect as well, a question which may come in useful in trying to attribute the designs of his later, more prestigious projects. And even if that question cannot be resolved conclusively, its discussion helps to sketch Maximilian’s architectural frame of reference and therefore may contribute to a better understanding of architectural develop- ments at his court and in his countries. The theme of the prince exercising himself as an architect or designer was the subject of a conference in Mantua in 1999, Il principe architetto, which dis- cussed such topics as the roles of François i of France and of the Emperor Maximilian i in the execution of their own commissions. In his ‘Der Fürst als