The Josefsplatz is a city-centre public square in the city of 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...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. The Josefsplatz is centred on a full-sized statue

Statue

A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...

 and monument of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...

 mounted on a horse (1795–1806, by sculptor Franz Anton Zauner).

The Square is enclosed by various buildings, once part of Hofburg Imperial Palace

Hofburg Imperial Palace

Hofburg Palace is a palace located in Vienna, Austria, that has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria...

 complex, notably the national library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) and Museum - a fine example of late 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...

 architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 on a grand scale, designed by Fischer von Erlach the Elder

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach

----Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, born Johann Bernhard Fischer was probably the most influential Austrian architect of the Baroque period....

 and Fischer von Erlach the Younger

Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach

Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also Fischer von Erlach the younger was an Austrianarchitect of the baroque, Rococo and baroque classicism.-Life and career:...

, with side wings added later to designs by Nikolaus Pacassi. The Museum has sometimes suffered catastrophic damage - the zoological

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

 collection was destroyed by cannonfire in the 1848 battle for Vienna, and the Redoutensäle wing was badly damaged by fire in 1992.

In one corner of the Square is the former Imperial Court Stables, once housing around nine hundred Lipizzaner horses. Part of it is now 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...

 while another part is a modern art gallery.

Josefsplatz was selected as a main motif of one of the very recent Austrian euro collectors' coins: the 5 euro Austrian 2006 EU Presidency commemorative coin, minted on January 18, 2006. The reverse shows the Vienna Hofburg Imperial Palace

Hofburg Imperial Palace

Hofburg Palace is a palace located in Vienna, Austria, that has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria...

 in the square. The equestrian statue of Joseph II

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...

 in its center. The wing of the Hofburg can be seen to the right, which contains 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...

 and the "Redoutensäle".

Josefplatz featured as a notable location in the feature film The Third Man

The Third Man

The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...

(1949).

External links

• Creative Histories: The Josefsplatz Experience - digitizing 3D models of Josefsplatz through the decades, for delivery on mobile phones to cultural tourists
  Cultural tourism
  Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life...
  
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