Castles · Tour

A Scholar Guide to Yourselves, from the Terraces to the Attersee

Two and a half hours at the Belvedere with a scholar guide, in a private group, split into an hour outside and an hour and a half in the galleries. The outside hour covers the complex as a piece of design. It was founded in the first decades of the 18th century as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, commander-in-chief of the Austrian army, and the whole arrangement, terraces, sightlines, the classical models behind the planting, was built to look like harmony itself. The Upper Belvedere is one of the significant buildings of its century. The hour and a half inside goes through the collection, which was opened to the public early enough to make the Belvedere one of the first public museums anywhere. It runs from the Middle Ages to the present, Austrian and international, with the Austrian National Gallery among it. The Klimt rooms hold The Kiss and Judith from the golden period, the Attersee landscapes, which are where he is at his least theatrical, and the portraits of Viennese society women. Being private, the emphasis follows what you ask about. Admission is not included; the guide will help you buy it at the ticket office.