Ballhausplatz is a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

in central

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

containing the building (with the address Ballhausplatz 2) that for over two hundred years has been the official residence of the most senior

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n Cabinet Minister, the State Chancellor, today the

Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...

(Prime Minister). As a result, ''Ballhausplatz'' is often used as shorthand for the Austrian Federal Chancellery. Until 1918 the

Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary The Imperial and Royal Foreign Ministry (german: k. u. k. Ministerium des Äußern) was the ministry responsible for the foreign relations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissolved in 19 ...

was also housed here. Similar to

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk f ...

or the

Hotel Matignon A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, the word ''Ballhausplatz'' (or ''Ballplatz'' for short) is a synecdoche for the seat of power. Ballhausplatz is located in the first district Innere Stadt in central Vienna, a few minutes' walk from the Austrian Parliament Building and on the edge of the grounds of Hofburg Imperial Palace. Until 1754 the square itself did not exist, as an imperial hospital was located there.

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabor ...

, erected a real tennis house there, the ''Ballhaus'' (ball house). Later the building was used for the Imperial Court Construction Office (''Hofbauamt''). At the end of the 18th century the ''Ballhaus'' was ripped down.

History of occupancy

Ballhausplatz 2 is the official residence of the Federal Chancellor. It was constructed in 1717/19 by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and expanded in 1766 by

Nicolò Pacassi Nicolò Pacassi (5 March 1716 – 11 November 1790), also known as Nikolaus Pacassi, was an Italian-Austrian architect. He was born in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria in a family of merchants from Gorizia. In 1753, he was appointed court archit ...

under the guidance of Chancellor

Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz Wenzel is a male given name (long version Wenzeslaus) as the German and Old English form of the Czech given name Václav or Venceslav, meaning "praised with glory". Variations are Вячеслав (Ukrainian and Russian), Vencel (Hungarian), Wacła ...

. Originally called the ''Geheime Hofkanzlei'' (Secret Court Chancellery), it was expanded in 1881 and again in 1902, when the ''Haus-, Hof-, und Staatsarchiv'' (today the

Austrian State Archive Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example ...

) were added on the site of the former ''Minoritenkloster''

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, next to the Minoritenkirche. The main facade has largely remained the same since its construction by von Hildebrandt. The interior is richly decorated with stucco. The building suffered heavy damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

due to

aerial bombardment An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

s, but was repaired. Located on the first floor are the offices of the Federal Chancellor, federal ministers, and conference rooms. The Government of Austria regularly meets here for cabinet meetings. Ballhausplatz 2 played an important role in

European politics The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent of Europe. It is a topic far more detailed than other continents due to a number of factors including the long history of nation states in the region as ...

for over 250 years. It was here that Chancellor

Klemens Wenzel von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

held the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, which was held after

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's defeat in 1814 and resulted in the "balance of power". Chancellor

Engelbert Dollfuß Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...

was murdered by

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

in his office in 1934. His successor Kurt von Schuschnigg gave his farewell speech shortly before Austria was annexed by Nazi-Germany in 1938 with his famous closing words "''Gott schütze Österreich''" ("God save Austria"). After 1945 and the restoration of independence the offices of the Federal Chancellor were once again located here. During the Schüssel coalition between the conservative

ÖVP The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...

and the far-right

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"A ...

in the years 2000 to 2007, regular demonstrations against this government have been held in front of the Chancellor's office. Ballhausplatz 1 is the address of the Office of the President of Austria (''Österreichische Präsidentschaftskanzlei''). The offices of the president himself are located in the Hofburg Imperial Palace.

Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice

In 2011,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

decided to honour Austrian

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

s. Vienna to honour Austria's Nazi army deserters,

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History of occupancy

Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice

See also

Books

References

External links