Palais Lobkowitz, or Palais Dietrichstein-Lobkowitz, is a Baroque palace in

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 owned by the noble

Lobkowitz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is a Czech noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest Bohemian noble families. The family also belong to the Ge ...

family. Today, it houses the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

museum, which is a part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

History

The palace is located on the ''Lobkowitzplatz'', a square which previously had been called the "pig market", at which time it was a less distinguished address. The ''Lobkowitz Palace'' ranks among the oldest palace buildings of Vienna. The palace is the first important baroque city palace built after the Battle of Vienna (''die zweite Türkenbelagerung''), when the aristocracy no longer had to invest its money only for military purposes. The palace façade, unlike its interior, is still to a large extent in its original condition from the time of its construction. The original building that stood where the palace now stands was sold in 1685 by Leopold Baron von Felss to the imperial Colonel stable master Philipp Sigmund count von Dietrichstein. This led to the current palace, built between 1685 and 1687 by Giovanni Pietro Tencala. The new palace occupied not only the site of the house of the Baron von Felss, but also the original site of a neighbouring bathhouse, which was also bought by Philipp Sigmund Count von Dietrichstein. After repeated ownership changes (among the owners, Count Wenzel Gallas), the palace was bought in 1745 by Ferdinand Philipp Prince von Lobkowitz. The palace remained from that time up to 1980 in the possession of the Lobkowitz family. Under the Lobkowitz family, the palace underwent several renovations. At the beginning of the 18th century, most notably,

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His inf ...

and his son

Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also ''Fischer von Erlach the younger'' (13 September 1693 in Vienna – 29 June 1742 in Vienna) was an Austrian architect of the Baroque, Rococo, and Baroque- Neoclassical. Biography Joseph Emanuel was the son ...

were entrusted with the project. In the early 19th century,

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

was often a guest in the palace, since the owner at that time, Joseph Franz Maximilian von Lobkowitz, was an important

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the composer. Beethoven's '' Third Symphony'' was dedicated to the prince, which is why the festival room of the palace was named " Eroica Hall". In 1804, Beethoven's ''Third Symphony'' was performed for the first time in Vienna in this hall, with the composer as conductor. During the Congress of Vienna, numerous celebrations and balls were held in the palace. Around the middle of the 19th century, the Lobkowitzes transferred their major residence to their hereditary palace in

Roudnice nad Labem Roudnice nad Labem (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. A steel road b ...

, northern Bohemia, and released their Viennese residence for letting. Between 1869 and 1909, the house was used as the French

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

. From 1919 to 1938, the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

n legation was accommodated there. After end of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, the house was used as seat of the Institut Français de Vienne. In 1980, the palace became government property, and since 1991, after a comprehensive renovation, it has served as the theatre museum of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Notes

References

Homepage of Theatermuseum
– museum group in the Palace

External links

* http://www.theatermuseum.at/ – Homepage of Theatermuseum, with gallery of the Palace {{Coord, 48, 12, 20, N, 16, 22, 05, E, region:AT-9_type:landmark, display=title

Dietrichstein family Baroque architecture in Vienna Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Houses completed in 1687 1687 establishments in Austria