Hermesvilla

Viena, Vienna (state), Austria

Suggest Place to Visit
8450
Track to location with GPS

Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten, in Vienna, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility. Emperor Franz Joseph I gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth (nicknamed "Sisi"), and he called it the "castle of dreams." The name of the villa refers to a statue of Hermes made of white marble that is located in the garden Today, the Hermesvilla is noted for its art and natural setting, and is used by the Vienna Museum for special exhibitions on cultural history.

Emperor Franz Joseph decided to build the Villa Hermés, originally called the "Villa Waldruh," in the summer of 1881. Ostensibly, the Emperor hoped it would encourage his wife, who traveled widely, to remain in Vienna. It was designed by architect Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer, and construction lasted 1882 until 1886. In 1885, the decision was made to rename the building "Villa Hermés". The Empress herself commissioned the sculptor Ernst Herter from Berlin to create the sculpture, titled Hermés der Wächter ("Hermés the Guardian") and instructed that it was to be placed in the garden of the villa. Documents at the Stadterweiterungsfond describe numerous stone deliveries of Sterzinger Marble, Laaser Marble and Wöllersdorfer Stone for staircases in the main building. Hard Mannersdorfer Stone, Almaser Stone, Lindabrunner Stone, St. Margarethener Stone, as well as "Kaiserstein" from "Kaisersteinbruch" were used in surrounding buildings.



In 1886, the villa, and all surrounding buildings, including riding facilities and stables for the horses of Empress Elisabeth, were finished. From 1887 until her assassination in 1898, the imperial couple regularly spent time there every year in late spring, varying from a few days to a couple of weeks.



In developing the grounds, Emperor Franz Joseph ordered that care be taken to flatten all the meadows and remove all molehills, expressing concern that otherwise the Empress "could not hack her horses" there. At a small pond nearby, a gazebo was built for the Empress, though it is no longer there today. The street leading to the Villa was one of the first streets in Vienna with electric lighting, and the Villa was one of the first buildings in Vienna with a telephone connection.



During the post-WWII Russian occupation of Vienna from 1945-1955, the Villa was looted by the Soviets, became run down and remained in poor condition for a number of years. However, in 1963, the Disney movie "Miracle of the White Stallions" brought back the interest in the building. This led to a private initiative that motivated the Austrian authorities to renovate the Villa, and the renovation process lasted from 1968 until 1974. The first exhibition opened in 1971 as Austria's contribution to the "World Hunt Exhibition" in Budapest. Since then the Hermesvilla has become a "jewel" in the heart of the 2500 hectare nature reserve and is a popular destination, particularly for people interested in Habsburg culture, history, and the "Sisi Myth" of the beautiful and unhappy Empress who had met a tragic fate.

Murals by Hans Makart, Gustav Klimt and Victor Tilgner are an integral part of the interior design. On the first floor are the private rooms of the Empress. The body conscious, possibly anorexic "Empress Sisi" worked out every day in the "Turnzimmer" (gymnasium). The room was originally equipped with a balance beam, Chin-up bar for pull-ups and rings. It also contains murals in the Pompeian style by August Eisenmenger, Hugo Charlemont and Adolf Falkensteiner, showing various sports.

ehind the Empress' dressing room is the bedroom of the Empress. In contrast to other rooms, here numerous historic objects have been preserved, including a gigantic baroque "state bed", dating to the time of Maria Theresa that once stood in the imperial room of the postal station in Strengberg near Amstetten in Lower Austria. The murals in the bedroom are based on motifs from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and were done by Hans Makart. From the bedroom, a spiral staircase leads to the ground floor and in the garden. In the salon hangs the restored painting "The Spring“ by Franz Matsch, Gustav Klimt and Georg Klimt.



In front of the palace stands the sculpture "Elisabeth" by Ulrike Truger. In this statue, commissioned in 1998, installed in the Lainzer Tiergarten in 2001, and moved to the Hermesvilla in 2006, the artist used the a central theme of "duty - escape - freedom" (zwang - flucht - freiheit), reflecting the Empress 'inner feelings. It is made of Carrara marble, stands about 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) high, and weighs 6.5 tonnes. Truger wanted the work to counter a romanticized "Sisi" stereotype. The statue presents the Empress differently from each side, standing for different aspects within the personality of the Empress, who chafed under the restrictions of court life: One side, "duty / obligation" (zwang) expresses the duty and obligations of her expected role. The next, "escape" (flucht) expresses her desire to flee; and finally the theme "freedom" (freiheit) is expressed with an image that includes wings. Thus, Truger's interpretation of the Empress explores the interplay between structure and freedom.



The stables, originally built for the horses of the Empress, are located in the left wing of the courtyard. The original stable equipment, including the wall partitions for the box stalls and tie stalls, still exists today to a large extent. Between the horse stalls is a Rondeau, a perfectly circular round pen of 20 meters (66 ft) diameter in which the horses of the Empress were longed during bad weather. From the 1950s until 2005 these stables were used as a summer stable for the Lipizzan stallions of the Spanish Riding School. For seven weeks the stallions were given holidays at this location, where their riders gave them a change in routine from their usual work, taking them out hacking in the nearby forests of the "Tiergarten".
Comments
We don´t have yet any comments about:
Hermesvilla
Be the first to leave a comment as it is very important to inform other people

 

Outros locais a visitar

Within a radius of 20 km from:

Hermesvilla

  

Tierpark Schönbrunn (Wien)

4,4 Km
Tierpark Schönbrunn (Wien)

  

Ernst Fuchs Museum (Wien)

4,4 Km
Ernst Fuchs Museum (Wien)

  

Hofsaal von Otto Wagner (Hietzing) (Wien)

4,8 Km
Hofsaal von Otto Wagner (Hietzing) (Wien)

  

Schloss Schönbrunn

5,1 Km
Schloss Schönbrunn

  

Kuffner Observatorium (Wien)

5,7 Km
Kuffner Observatorium (Wien)

  

Technisches Museum Wien

5,8 Km
Technisches Museum Wien

  

Altes Wiener Schnapsmuseum

6,7 Km
Altes Wiener Schnapsmuseum

  

Westlicht Zentrum für Fotografie (Wien)

7,9 Km
Westlicht Zentrum für Fotografie (Wien)

  

Kaiserliche Möbelsammlung

8,1 Km
Kaiserliche Möbelsammlung

  

Österreichische Gesellschaften - Und Wirtschaftsmuseum

8,3 Km
Österreichische Gesellschaften - Und Wirtschaftsmuseum

  

Wiener Schuhmuseum

8,4 Km
Wiener Schuhmuseum

  

Foltermuseum (Wien)

8,5 Km
Foltermuseum (Wien)

  

Haus Des Meeres

8,5 Km
Haus Des Meeres

  

Alte Bäckerei (Wien)

9,0 Km
Alte Bäckerei (Wien)

  

Kunsthalle Wien

9,0 Km
Kunsthalle Wien

  

Mumok

9,1 Km
Mumok

  

Architekturzentrum Wien

9,1 Km
Architekturzentrum Wien

  

Das Museum des Dritten Mannes (Wien)

9,1 Km
Das Museum des Dritten Mannes (Wien)

  

Leopold Museum

9,1 Km
Leopold Museum

  

Museumsquartier (Wien)

9,1 Km
Museumsquartier (Wien)

  

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien

9,3 Km
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien

  

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Wien)

9,3 Km
Kunsthistorisches Museum (Wien)

  

Kunsthistorisches Museum

9,3 Km
Kunsthistorisches Museum

  

Wiener Parlament

9,3 Km
Wiener Parlament

  

Wiener Secessionsgebäude

9,5 Km
Wiener Secessionsgebäude

  

Generali-Stiftung

9,5 Km
Generali-Stiftung

  

Akademie der bildenden Künste (Wien)

9,5 Km
Akademie der bildenden Künste (Wien)

  

Weltmuseum Wien

9,5 Km
Weltmuseum Wien

  

Ephesus Museum (Wien)

9,5 Km
Ephesus Museum (Wien)

  

Waffen- und Rüstungssammlung (Wien)

9,6 Km
Waffen- und Rüstungssammlung (Wien)

  

Neue Burg

9,6 Km
Neue Burg

  

Nationaltheater Wien

9,6 Km
Nationaltheater Wien

  

Papyrus Museum (Wien)

9,6 Km
Papyrus Museum (Wien)

  

Universität Wien

9,7 Km
Universität Wien

  

Museum der Wiener Staatsoper

9,7 Km
Museum der Wiener Staatsoper

  

Schmetterlingshaus

9,7 Km
Schmetterlingshaus

  

Kaiserliche Schatzkammer Wien

9,8 Km
Kaiserliche Schatzkammer Wien

  

Otto Wagners Stadtbahnpavillons

9,8 Km
Otto Wagners Stadtbahnpavillons

  

Beethoven Pasqualatihaus

9,8 Km
Beethoven Pasqualatihaus

  

Sisi Museum (Wien)

9,8 Km
Sisi Museum (Wien)

  

Karlsplatz (Wien)

9,8 Km
Karlsplatz (Wien)

  

Albertina

9,8 Km
Albertina

  

Augustinerkirche (Wien)

9,8 Km
Augustinerkirche (Wien)

  

Josephinum (Wien)

9,8 Km
Josephinum (Wien)

  

Phantastenmuseum (Wien)

9,8 Km
Phantastenmuseum (Wien)

  

Österreichisches Filmmuseum

9,8 Km
Österreichisches Filmmuseum

  

Abteilung für geplante Sprachen und Esperanto Museum

9,9 Km
Abteilung für geplante Sprachen und Esperanto Museum

  

Globe Museum

9,9 Km
Globe Museum

  

Österreichisches Theatermuseum

9,9 Km
Österreichisches Theatermuseum

  

Künstlerhaus (Wien)

9,9 Km
Künstlerhaus (Wien)

  

Künstlerhaus

9,9 Km
Künstlerhaus

  

Museum in der Abtei der Schotten (Wien)

9,9 Km
Museum in der Abtei der Schotten (Wien)

  

Wiener Bestattungsmuseum

9,9 Km
Wiener Bestattungsmuseum

  

Wiener Karlsplatz Museum

9,9 Km
Wiener Karlsplatz Museum

  

Hofburg (Wien)

9,9 Km
Hofburg (Wien)

  

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

10,0 Km
Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

  

Zeitreise Wien

10,0 Km
Zeitreise Wien

  

Jüdisches Museum Wien

10,0 Km
Jüdisches Museum Wien

  

Feuerwehrmuseum (Wien)

10,1 Km
Feuerwehrmuseum (Wien)

  

Haus Der Musik

10,1 Km
Haus Der Musik

  

Uhrenmuseum

10,1 Km
Uhrenmuseum

  

Sigmund Freud Museum

10,2 Km
Sigmund Freud Museum

  

Garten des Palastes von Liechtenstein (Wien)

10,2 Km
Garten des Palastes von Liechtenstein (Wien)

  

Arnold Schönberg Zentrum

10,3 Km
Arnold Schönberg Zentrum

  

Stephansdom (Wien)

10,3 Km
Stephansdom (Wien)

  

Haus der Fresken von Neidhart (Wien)

10,3 Km
Haus der Fresken von Neidhart (Wien)

  

Österreich

10,3 Km
Österreich

  

Stephansdom (Wien)

10,3 Km
Stephansdom (Wien)

  

Museum des Doms (Wien)

10,4 Km
Museum des Doms (Wien)

  

Römisches Museum im Hohen Markt (Wien)

10,4 Km
Römisches Museum im Hohen Markt (Wien)

  

Mozarthaus Wien

10,4 Km
Mozarthaus Wien

  

Anker Uhr (Wien)

10,4 Km
Anker Uhr (Wien)

  

Denkmal für Johann Strauss (Wien)

10,6 Km
Denkmal für Johann Strauss (Wien)

  

Militärhistorisches Museum Wien

10,6 Km
Militärhistorisches Museum Wien

  

Alte Schmiede (Wien)

10,7 Km
Alte Schmiede (Wien)

  

Museum für Militärgeschichte

10,7 Km
Museum für Militärgeschichte

  

Donau (Wien)

10,8 Km
Donau (Wien)

  

Wagner Werk (Wien)

10,9 Km
Wagner Werk (Wien)

  

Kriminalmuseum (Wien)

11,1 Km
Kriminalmuseum (Wien)

  

Wiener Kriminalmuseum

11,1 Km
Wiener Kriminalmuseum

  

Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten (Wien)

11,2 Km
Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten (Wien)

  

Haus Wittgenstein (Wien)

11,6 Km
Haus Wittgenstein (Wien)

  

Haus Hundertwasser (Wien)

11,7 Km
Haus Hundertwasser (Wien)

  

Friedhof von St. Marx (Wien)

11,7 Km
Friedhof von St. Marx (Wien)

  

Kunsthauswien

11,8 Km
Kunsthauswien

  

Prater Museum (Wien)

12,1 Km
Prater Museum (Wien)

  

Zeiss Planetarium Wien

12,1 Km
Zeiss Planetarium Wien

  

Das Riesenrad und sein Platz (Wien)

12,3 Km
Das Riesenrad und sein Platz (Wien)

  

Madame Tussauds (Wien)

12,3 Km
Madame Tussauds (Wien)

  

Wiener Straßenbahnmuseum

12,4 Km
Wiener Straßenbahnmuseum

  

Museum in der Wäscherei (Wien)

12,5 Km
Museum in der Wäscherei (Wien)

  

Islamisches Zentrum - Moschee (Wien)

13,9 Km
Islamisches Zentrum - Moschee (Wien)

  

Donauturm (Wien)

14,4 Km
Donauturm (Wien)

  

Essl Museum Kunst der Gegenwart

16,0 Km
Essl Museum Kunst der Gegenwart

  

Essl Museum - Kunst der Gegenwart (Klosterneuburg)

16,0 Km
Essl Museum - Kunst der Gegenwart (Klosterneuburg)

  

Friedhof ohne Namen (Wien)

19,1 Km
Friedhof ohne Namen (Wien)


Why to book with TOURISTISCHE ROUTEN
The best prices
Our partnerships with the world´s largest operators offer research on the best market prices.
More options
At Rotas Turisticos you can book the hotel, buy the air ticket, book the transfer from the airport to the hotel and vice versa, book the local excursions, rent the car, take travel insurance and consult the places to visit and where to go.
Holiday Tips & Destinations
Hundreds of holiday destinations with all the options that allow you to easily choose the destination that best suits your dream vacation.
TOURISTISCHE ROUTEN


Follow us on social networks
  

 
Rotas Turisticas
Grupo Público · 8.410 membros
Aderir ao grupo
Podem publicar fotos das vossas viagens, férias, locais que estiveram ou gostariam de estar. Podem divulgar negócios ou actividades...