Palais Kinsky is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It was originally built for Count

Wirich Philipp von Daun Count Wirich Philipp von Daun (19 October 1669 – 30 July 1741) was an Austrian Field Marshal of the Imperial Army in the War of Spanish Succession, and father of the better known Leopold Josef Graf Daun. In 1710 he was created Prince of Teano. B ...

, the garrison commander whose son

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

became a

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

of Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

. The palace was later bought by the

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; german: Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) is a prominent Czech noble family originating from the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the ...

family of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, and it is sometimes called the Palais Daun-Kinsky.

History

The palace was commissioned by Count Wirich Philipp von Daun, and construction started in 1713 under the direction of architect

Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg E ...

. Prince

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of king Stanislaus Augustus of Poland (), ...

, a Polish general and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

, was born in the palace on 7 May 1763. The palace has a yellow and white

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

, and a richly decorated staircase with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

ed ceilings, mirrors and statues. In 1784, it was sold to the noble Kinsky family. Matilde Kinsky inherited the Palace and married an Argentine: Mr. Martinez de Hoz. The Palais became the Argentine embassy for a decade in the 1960s. Palais Kinsky underwent renovation in the late 1990s and was restored to its earlier design. The rooms have Baroque

ed ceilings and expensive parquet floors. The palace is used for

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

events (''Auktionshaus im Kinsky'') and receptions, and it houses shops and a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

named ''Freyung 4''. It was also used for the final-status negotiations between

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Albanians in EU-sponsored

negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement ...

Gallery

File:Palais Kinsky Vienna June 2006 105.jpg, Palais Kinsky façade File:Palais Kinsky Vienna June 2006 103.jpg, Front entrance File:Palais Kinsky Vienna June 2006 050.jpg, Coat of arms File:Palais Kinsky Vienna June 2006 073.jpg, Baroque interior File:Palais Kinsky Vienna June 2006 076.jpg, Frescoed ceiling above the grand staircase

Sources

* Wilhelm G. Rizzi, Hellmut Lorenz, Wolfgang Prohaska, Amisola AG (ed.). ''Palais Daun-Kinsky - Wien, Freyung''. Johann Lehner GmbH Verlagsbüro, Vienna. 2001.

References

auktionen

External links

*

Auktionshaus im Kinsky - auction house

House of Kinsky Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Baroque architecture in Vienna Houses completed in the 18th century {{Austria-palace-stub