Palais Lobkowitz

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Palais Lobkowitz, or Palais Dietrichstein-Lobkowitz, is a baroque palace in Vienna. It was owned by the noble Lobkowitz family.

Today it houses the theatre museum of the Austrian National Library.

1 History
2 Notes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The Lobkowitz Palace is a baroque palace in the first Viennese municipality district of the internal city. ^[1] It stands at the Lobkowitzplatz, designated after it, which was called "pig market" previously, and was a less distinguished address. The Lobkowitz Palace ranks among the oldest palace buildings of Vienna. The palace is the first important baroque city palace after the second Turk Türkenbelagerung, when the aristocracy had to invest its money no longer only into military purposes.

The front of the palace is, unlike the inside, still to a large extent in its original condition from the time it was constructed. The original house that stood in the place of the current palace was sold in the year 1685 by Leopold baron von Felss to the imperial Colonel stable master Philipp Sigmund count von Dietrichstein. This led to the current palace, built in the years 1685 and 1687 by Giovanni Pietro Tencala. Beside the house of the Baron von Felss, the palace was established also at the place of the originally neighbouring bath house, which was also bought by Philipp Sigmund count von Dietrichstein.

After repeated ownership changes (with count Wenzel Gallas), the palace was bought in 1745 by Ferdinand Philipp prince by Lobkowitz. The palace was from that time up to the year 1980 in the possession of the family Lobkowitz.

Under the family Lobkowitz, several changes occurred in the palace. At the beginning of the 18th Century, most notably, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach were entrusted with it.

Around the early 19th Century, Ludwig van Beethoven was often a guest in the palace, since he was a concern of the owner at that time, Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz, an important sponsor of the composer. Beethoven's Third Symphony was dedicated to the prince, which is why the festival room of the palace was also baptized "Eroica hall," and in 1804, the Third Symphony of Beethoven's was specified under his line in this hall the first time in Vienna.

At present, the Congress of Vienna has held numerous celebrations and balls in the palace. Around the center of the 19th Century, shifted the Lobkowitz the head office of the family in the master lock after Raudnitz in Nordböhmen, and the Viennese released the palace for letting.

In the years 1869 to 1909, the house was used as the French embassy.

Later, in the years 1919 to 1938, the Czechoslovakian legation was accommodated there.

After end of the Second World War, the house was used as seat of the Institut of the Français de Vienne.

In the year 1980, the palace became government property, and since the year 1991, after a comprehensive renovation, has become the theatre museum of the Austrian National Library.