The Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten

Lainzer Tiergarten

The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km² wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, 80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I of Austria created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. Since 1919, it has been open to the public...

, in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, a former hunting area for the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 nobility. Emperor Franz Joseph I

Franz Joseph I of Austria

Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...

 gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth

Elisabeth of Bavaria

Elisabeth of Austria was the spouse of Franz Joseph I, and therefore both Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She also held the titles of Queen of Bohemia and Croatia, among others...

 (nicknamed "Sisi"), and he called it the "castle of dreams.“ The name of the villa refers to a statue of Hermes

Hermes

Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...

 made of white marble that is located in the garden of the villa. Today, the Hermesvilla is noted for its art and natural setting, and is used by the Vienna Museum

Vienna Museum

The Vienna Museum is a group of museums in Vienna consisting of the museums of the history of the city. In addition to the main building in Karlsplatz and the Hermesvilla, the group includes numerous specialised museums, musicians' residences and archaeological excavations.The permanent exhibit of...

 for special exhibitions on cultural history.

History

Emperor Franz Joseph decided to build the Villa Hermés, originally called the "Villa Waldruh," in the summer of 1881. Ostensibly, the Emperor hoped it would encourage his wife, who traveled widely, to remain in Vienna. It was designed by architect Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer

Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer

Baron Karl von Hasenauer was an important Austrian architect and key representative of the Historismus school....

, and construction lasted 1882 until 1886. In 1885, the decision was made to rename the building "Villa Hermés". The Empress herself commissioned the sculptor Ernst Herter from Berlin to create the sculpture, titled Hermés der Wächter ("Hermés the Guardian") and instructed that it was to be placed in the garden of the villa. Documents at the Stadterweiterungsfond describe numerous stone deliveries of Sterzinger Marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

, Laaser Marble and Wöllersdorfer

Wöllersdorf-Steinabrückl

Wöllersdorf-Steinabrückl is a municipality in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in Lower Austria, Austria.-References:...

 Stone for staircases in the main building. Hard Mannersdorfer

Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge

Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge is a town in Austria. It is located in the district of Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria. Mannersdorf is seated on an agricultural plain, at the base of a range of wooded hills called the Leitha Mountains , from which it receives its full name...

 Stone, Almaser Stone, Lindabrunner

Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn

Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn is a town in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in Austria.-External links:^...

 Stone, St. Margarethener

Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland

St Margarethen is a town in Burgenland near the state capital Eisenstadt. It is home to a large 1st century Roman quarry. A passion play has been presented in St Margarethen each summer for over seventy years. The town is close to the border with Hungary. The Pan-European Picnic peace...

 Stone, as well as "Kaiserstein" from "Kaisersteinbruch" were used in surrounding buildings.

In 1886, the villa, and all surrounding buildings, including riding facilities and stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

s for the horses of Empress Elisabeth, were finished. From 1887 until her assassination in 1898, the imperial couple regularly spent time there every year in late spring, varying from a few days to a couple of weeks.
In developing the grounds, Emperor Franz Joseph ordered that care be taken to flatten all the meadows and remove all molehill

Molehill

A molehill is a conical mound of loose soil raised by small burrowing mammals, including moles, but also similar animals such as mole-rats, marsupial moles and voles...

s, expressing concern that otherwise the Empress "could not hack

Pleasure riding

Pleasure riding is a form of equestrianism that encompasses many forms of recreational riding for personal enjoyment, absent elements of competition. Pleasure riding is called "hacking" in British English, and in parts of the eastern United States and Canada...

 her horses" there. At a small pond nearby, a gazebo

Gazebo

A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...

 was built for the Empress, though it is no longer there today. The street leading to the Villa was one of the first streets in Vienna with electric lighting, and the Villa was one of the first buildings in Vienna with a telephone connection.

During the post-WWII

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Russian occupation of Vienna from 1945-1955, the Villa was looted by the Soviets, became run down and remained in poor condition for a number of years. However, in 1963, the Disney

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 movie "Miracle of the White Stallions

Miracle of the White Stallions

Miracle of the White Stallions is a 1963 film released by Walt Disney starring Robert Taylor , Lilli Palmer, and Eddie Albert. It is the story of the evacuation of the Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during World War II.Major parts of the movie were shot in the...

" brought back the interest in the building. This led to a private initiative that motivated the Austrian authorities to renovate the Villa, and the renovation process lasted from 1968 until 1974. The first exhibition opened in 1971 as Austria's contribution to the "World Hunt Exhibition" in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

. Since then the Hermesvilla has become a "jewel" in the heart of the 2500 hectare nature reserve and is a popular destination, particularly for people interested in Habsburg culture, history, and the "Sisi Myth" of the beautiful and unhappy Empress who had met a tragic fate

Interior

Mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

s by Hans Makart

Hans Makart

Hans Makart was a 19th century Austrian academic history painter, designer, and decorator; most well known for his influence on Gustav Klimt and other Austrian artists, but in his own era considered an important artist himself and was a celebrity figure in the high culture of Vienna, attended with...

, Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects...

 and Victor Tilgner are an integral part of the interior design. On the first floor are the private rooms of the Empress. The body conscious, possibly anorexic

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...

 "Empress Sisi" worked out every day in the "Turnzimmer" (gymnasium

Gym

The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

). The room was originally equipped with a balance beam, Chin-up bar

Chin-up bar

Chin-up bars are playground equipment that were once ubiquitous on children's playgrounds. They are still important in the adult equivalent of a playground, the Par course. A chin-up bar is simply a smooth horizontal metal bar, often a pipe, held solidly above ground by a wooden or metal frame...

 for pull-ups

Pull-up (exercise)

A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise where the body is suspended by the arms, gripping something, and pulled up with muscular effort...

 and rings

Rings (gymnastics)

The rings, also known as still rings , is an artistic gymnastics apparatus and the event that uses it. It is traditionally used only by male gymnasts, due to its extreme upper-body strength requirements...

. It also contains mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

s in the Pompeian style

Pompeian Styles

The Pompeian Styles are four periods which are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting. They were originally delineated and described by the German archaeologist August Mau, 1840 – 1909, from the excavation of wall paintings at Pompeii, which is one of the largest group of surviving examples...

 by August Eisenmenger, Hugo Charlemont

Hugo Charlemont

Hugo Charlemont was an Austrian painter.- Family history :Hugo was the son of the miniature painter Matthias Adolf Charlemont and the brother of the painters Eduard Charlemont and Theodor Charlemont . Also Hugos daughter Lilly Charlemont was an artist.- Works :* Interieur of a hammer...

 and Adolf Falkensteiner, showing various sports.

Behind the Empress' dressing room

Boudoir

A boudoir is a lady's private bedroom, sitting room or dressing room. The term derives from the French verb bouder, meaning "to be sulky" or boudeur, meaning "sulky".- In architecture :...

 is the bedroom of the Empress. In contrast to other rooms, here numerous historic objects have been preserved, including a gigantic baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 "state bed", dating to the time of Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

  that once stood in the imperial room of the postal station in Strengberg

Strengberg

Strengberg is a town in the district of Amstetten in Lower Austria in Austria....

 near Amstetten

Amstetten, Lower Austria

Amstetten is a town in Lower Austria. It is the capital of the Amstetten District.-Geography:Is geographically located between 48 ° 07 ' N and 14 ° 52 ' E , at a height of 275 meters , has an area of 52.22 km ² , its population in 2001 was 22,595 inhabitants, with a population density of 441 habs...

 in Lower Austria

Lower Austria

Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...

. The murals in the bedroom are based on motifs from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...

" and were done by Hans Markart. From the bedroom, a spiral staircase leads to the ground floor and in the garden. In the salon

Drawing room

A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...

 hangs the restored painting "The Spring“ by Franz Matsch, Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects...

 and Georg Klimt.

In front of the palace stands the sculpture "Elisabeth" by Ulrike Truger. In this statue, commissioned in 1998, installed in the Lainzer Tiergarten in 2001, and moved to the Hermesvilla in 2006, the artist used the a central theme of "duty - escape - freedom“ (zwang – flucht – freiheit), reflecting the Empress' inner feelings. It is made of Carrara marble, stands about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) high, and weighs 6.5 tonnes. Truger wanted the work to counter a romanticized "Sisi" stereotype. The statue presents the Empress differently from each side, standing for different aspects within the personality of the Empress, who chafed under the restrictions of court life: One side, "duty/obligation" (zwang) expresses the duty and obligations of her expected role. The next, "escape" (flucht ) expresses her desire to flee; and finally the theme "freedom" (freiheit) is expressed with an image that includes wings. Thus, Truger's interpretation of the Empress explores the interplay between structure and freedom.

Stables

The stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

s, originally built for the horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s of the Empress, are located in the left wing of the courtyard. The original stable equipment, including the wall partitions for the box stalls

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

 and tie stalls

Stall

In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded...

, still exist today to a large extent. Between the horse stalls is a Rondeau, a perfectly circular round pen

Round pen

The round pen sometimes called a bullpen is a round enclosure used for horse training. They range in diameter from a minimum of to a maximum of , with most designs in diameter. Footing is usually sand or other soft dirt...

 of 20 metres (65.6 ft) diameter in which the horses of the Empress were longe

Longe

Longe it was the third album of the Portuguese band Pólo Norte. It was published in 1999 and its producer was Jony Galvão. The great hits were: Vou p´ra Longe e Como uma onda.-Track listing:* 1. Vou p'ra Longe* 2. O Céu Pode Esperar...

d during bad weather. From the 1950s until 2005 these stables were used as a summer stable for the Lipizzan

Lipizzan

The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner , is a breed of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, where the finest representatives demonstrate the haute école or "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements...

 stallions of the Spanish Riding School

Spanish Riding School

The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg...

. For seven weeks the stallion

Stallion

A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...

s were given holidays at this location, where their riders gave them a change in routine from their usual work

Classical dressage

Classical dressage evolved from cavalry movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive dressage seen today...

, taking them out hacking

Pleasure riding

Pleasure riding is a form of equestrianism that encompasses many forms of recreational riding for personal enjoyment, absent elements of competition. Pleasure riding is called "hacking" in British English, and in parts of the eastern United States and Canada...

 in the nearby forests of the "Tiergarten

Lainzer Tiergarten

The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km² wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, 80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I of Austria created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. Since 1919, it has been open to the public...

".

External links

• Thomas Trenkler. (2005) Sisi in Vienna. On the traces of the Empress Elisabeth. Vienna: Ueberreuter publishing. ISBN 3-8000-7115-0.