Volksgarten, Vienna
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The Volksgarten ( en, People's Garden) is a public park in the
Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expa ...
first district of
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. The garden, which is part of the
Hofburg Palace The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
, was laid out by Ludwig Remy in 1821.Parsons 2000, p. 102. The park was built over the city fortifications that were destroyed by
Napoleon 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 who ...
in 1809. The Volksgarten was opened to the public in 1823.


History

The Volksgarten area was originally used for fortifications. Between 1596 and 1597, a fortress wall was built on the eastern side of park. In 1639, additional fortifications were built on the southern side. In 1809, these fortifications were destroyed by Napoleon's French troops. Between 1817 and 1821, the area near Ballhausplatz square was converted to gardens originally intended for a private garden for the archdukes. These plans were changed through a proposal by the court garden administration to turn the area into the first public park in the city. On 1 March 1823, the park was officially opened. Starting in 1825, the name ''Volksgarten'' was commonly used. In 1862, the gardens were extended toward
Ringstraße The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites where ...
after the city moat had been filled in.


Buildings

At the center of the park stands the neoclassical Theseus Temple by Pietro di Nobile, completed in 1821. This small-scale replica of the
Temple of Hephaestus The Temple of Hephaestus or ''Hephaisteion'' (also "Hephesteum" or "Hephaesteum"; grc, Ἡφαιστεῖον, ell, Ναός Ηφαίστου, and formerly called in error the Theseion or "Theseum"; grc, Θησεῖον, ell, Θησείο), ...
in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
was originally designed to house
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
's ''Theseus'' sculpture. Canova was also involved in the construction of the temple. In 1890, Canova's sculpture was moved to the Museum of Fine Arts. The Cortisches coffee house was built between 1820 and 1823, also by Peter Nobile. Austrian Romantic composers
Johann Strauss I Johann Baptist Strauss I (; also Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder, the Father; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galo ...
and
Joseph Lanner Joseph Franz Karl Lanner (12 April 1801 – 14 April 1843) was an Austrian dance music composer and dance orchestra conductor. He is best remembered as one of the earliest Viennese composers to reform the waltz from a simple peasant dance to s ...
performed here. The Cafè Meierei was built in 1890, originally as a water reservoir. In 1924, it was converted to the ''Milchtrinkhalle''. The ''Milchpavillon'' was built in 1951 by Oswald Haerdtl.


Monuments

At the northern end of the park stands the ''Empress Elizabeth Monument'' by
Hans Bitterlich Hans Bitterlich (28 April 1860, Vienna - 5 August 1949, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor. Life and work His father was the sculptor and history painter, Eduard Bitterlich. He studied with Edmund von Hellmer and Kaspar von Zumbusch, and was a ...
and
Friedrich Ohmann Friedrich Ohmann (21 December 1858, Lemberg - 6 April 1927, Vienna) was an Austrian architect in the Historicist style. Life and work His father was a building official. In 1877, he began his studies in architecture at the Technical Universit ...
, completed in 1907. At the center of the monument is a statue of a seated
Empress Elisabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
by Hans Bitterlich. The statue of the empress, which was sculpted from an 8000–kg block of Laaser marble, measures 2.5 m in height. The dedication of the monument took place on 4 June 1907 in the presence of Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...
. At the southern end of the park stands the ''Franz Grillparzer Monument'' by
Carl Kundmann Carl Kundmann (15 June 1838, Vienna – 9 June 1919, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor, best known for his works which adorn the area around the Ringstraße project. Life and work Kundmann studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. After six ...
, completed in 1875. The seated figure of Austrian writer
Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...
is shown in contemplation holding a book in his left hand.


Fountains

The Volksgarten contains two fountains. The ''Triton and Nymph Fountain'' was built in 1880 by Viktor Tilgner. ''People's Garten Fountain'' was erected in 1866 by Anton Dominik Fernkorn.


Rose Garden

The park is famous for its beautiful
rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...
s with over 3,000 rose bushes of about 400 different cultivars of roses.


Gallery

Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Denkmal, Volksgarten Wien 2008 e.jpg, Empress Elizabeth Monument (detail) Vienna, Wien, Wenen (27178513733).jpg, Theseus Temple Volksgarten Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Denkmal Wien Brunnen 2c 22-09-2013.jpg, Empress Elizabeth Monument (detail) Grillparzer monument - Vienna.jpg, Grillparzer Monument Triton- und Nymphen-Brunnen Volksgarten Wien 2010 d.jpg, Triton and Nymph Fountain AT-20134 Empress Elisabeth monument (Volksgarten) -hu- 3863.jpg, Empress Elisabeth monument Rosa Schwanensee.jpg, Rosegarten, ''Schwanensee'' Wien Volksgarten Rathausturm Rosenblüte.jpg, Rosegarten Wien - Volksgartenbrunnen.JPG, Volksgartenbrunnen Rosa Exploit.jpg, Rosegarten, ''Exploit'' Winterschutz.jpg,
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s with protection against desiccation in winter Wien - Volksgarten, Jugendlicher Athlet.JPG, Statue "Young Athlete"


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Encyclopedia of Austria
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