Palais Harrach is a Baroque

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

 palace

Palace

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

 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...

, 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...

. It was owned by the noble Harrach

Harrach

The Harrach family is a Bohemian and Austro-German noble family. The Grafs von Harrach were among the most prominent families in the Habsburg Empire.-History:...

 family. It was extensively renovated and restored in the late 1990s and houses offices and shops today.

History

From 1600 to 1658, it was property of Freyung

Freyung

Freyung may refer to:* Freyung, Bavaria* Freyung-Grafenau, a district in Bavaria* Passau–Freyung railway, a branch line in Bavaria* Freyung , a public square in Vienna...

 family. Count Ferdinand Bonaventura I von Harrach bought the ruining edifice in the 17th century, which was replaced by a new one designed by Domenico Martinelli

Domenico Martinelli

Domenico Martinelli was an Italian architect who worked for Carlo Fontana during 1678. He was an evident figure in the shaping of Baroque style in the North Alps. In 2010 a musical tribute called "Project Martinelli" was performed to him in Munich.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, Tuscany and...

 in 1696-98. From 1870 to 1970 it housed Count Aloys Thomas Raimund Harrach's picture collection (now in Castle Rohrau). The palace was sold to the municipality of Vienna in 1975.