The Upper Belvedere palace claims all the glory with its Klimts and Schieles, but its smaller cousin at Lower Belvedere also combines quality art exhibitions with classic Baroque architecture.
- Temporary art exhibitions in the palace and Orangerie
- Permanent medieval collection in the Prunkstall stables
- Gorgeous interiors and a Baroque privy garden
- Selected temporary exhibitions:
- See also:
- Book tickets online* for Lower Belvedere
- Belvedere overview (and visitor tips)
- Selected past Belvedere exhibitions
- Art exhibitions in Vienna
Lower Belvedere Highlights
(Rear view of Lower Belvedere palace)
This U-shaped palace at the southern end of the main Belvedere gardens was completed in 1716 under the watchful eye of architect and military engineer, Johann Lukas Hildebrandt.
With the Upper Belvedere palace largely for show, Lower Belvedere served more pragmatic functions. Though if that sounds like it was all bare walls and dustbins, you couldn’t be farther from the truth.
(A lot of us have crockery for daily use and the crockery we bring out for visitors. Prince Eugene seemingly applied the same principle to palaces.)
Interior architecture
So what’s inside this Baroque residence?
Well, the main building hosts high-quality, temporary art exhibitions and many of the rooms are now fitted out like a modern gallery. But many also still contain Baroque elements (like a decorated ceiling) or retain pretty much all their original and magnificent glory.
So don’t feel a visit is wasted just because the current exhibitions fail to get your adrenaline flowing: the palace has its own historical highlights to see inside too.
Marmorsaal (Marble hall)
Located in the east wing exhibition tract, the Mamorsaal forms the centrepiece (literally and figuratively) of Lower Belvedere palace.
This large two-storey hall feels like Prince Eugene’s personality expressed in marble and stone.
Let your eye wander across the numerous reliefs depicting hard-earned military trophies, statues of shackled enemies, and balconies and alcoves formed by paintings designed to create architectural illusions.
And, of course, the ceiling fresco has Eugene receiving honors from the Pope via the god, Mercury. It’s all rather impressive.
So let us forgive Eugene his vanity, because without it we wouldn’t have this Baroque splendor to marvel at. And remember: Lower Belvedere is supposed to be the more functional palace!
Most of the rooms to the east of the ticketing and shop area are reserved for the exhibitions. But you may still discover a marble-edged ceiling within, painted to look like a giant stone dome.
(The marble hall; press photo © Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Wien)
The rooms to the west contain more stateroom highlights…
Groteskensaal (Hall of Grotesques)
The Groteskensaal with its patterned marble floor adjoins the ticket counter and shop area and leads out to the west wing. Despite the name, no disfigured mummies or similar lurk within.
“Grotesque” refers to a fanciful style of decoration popular in Ancient Rome, with flowing, quasi-floral patterns that feature botanical, zoological and mythological elements, often with caricatures.
This room is essentially one giant grotesque painting. The style also appears in Prince Eugene’s Winterpalais residence in the city center (no longer accessible to the public, unfortunately).
Moving on takes you through the marble gallery, golden room, and out to…
- The Orangery: once home to citrus fruits, now home to a changing selection of temporary art exhibitions
- The Prunkstall stables: also converted to galleries and featuring parts of Belvedere’s medieval collection
- The Kammergarten: a privy garden that stretches up alongside the main gardens
(Lower Belvedere’s Goldkabinett; press photo © Lukas Schaller / Belvedere, Wien)
Marble gallery (Marmorgallerie)
As the name cunningly suggests, the floors and walls here are marble, interlaced with stucco reliefs. Imagine a Wedgwood plate turned into a room.
Large mirrors at either end add a white marble vastness to the ambience.
This room also serves as another illustration of the two themes that permeate much of Belvedere: military victories and the vanity of Prince Eugene.
The ceiling includes a relief of said Prince receiving a laurel wreath from an angel, while a manifestation of peace drives away envy and hate (presumably modesty ran off much earlier).
As should be clear by now, it seems the house owner enjoyed depictions of himself basking in the glory of his military genius. Though to be fair, he earned it.
Golden room (Goldkabinett)
Originally a conversation room, the Golden Room was later decorated with golden walls, giant mirrors and grotesque paintwork, possibly making conversation impossible thanks to sensory overload.
Stand in front of the opposing mirrors and you see a never-ending cascade of gold and colored arches that exude imperial opulence and grandeur (the adaptations took place after Eugene’s heir sold the palace to Empress Maria Theresa).
It demands an awful lot of self-control not to take a selfie in front of those glorious mirrors.
Tickets & visitor tips
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
- The main entrance gates lead directly off the road (Rennweg) to the large courtyard with the palace entrance and ticket counters in the tract opposite
- A valid ticket for Lower Belvedere includes access to the Kammergarten, Orangery, and Prunkstall
- The palace has a serviced cloakroom and coin-operated lockers as well as its own café, and a shop with the traditional stock of books, souvenirs and similar
- For the best photos of the lower palace, go out into the gardens behind it and walk up the slope towards the upper palace
- The Vienna Pass (review) gets you into Lower Belvedere once for free
How to get to Lower Belvedere
See the directions article for Belvedere for detailed tips on how to reach the palace.
Address: Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna