Stadtpalais Liechtenstein

Stadtpalais Liechtenstein is a princely city palace at Bankgasse 9 in Vienna's first district, Innere Stadt, and serves as the majorat house of the Princes of Liechtenstein. Built between 1692 and 1705, it is recognized as the first significant High Baroque building in Vienna. The palace remains in the ownership of the Princely House of Liechtenstein and, following extensive restoration completed in 2013, houses the 19th-century portion of the princely art collection while displaying its interiors for guided tours and events. Its survival through World War II bombing, subsequent damage, and eventual restoration preserves one of Vienna's most architecturally and historically significant aristocratic residences.

Construction began in 1691 on the commission of Count Dominik Kaunitz, with Domenico Martinelli as lead architect and plans by Enrico Zuccalli. Stone masonry contracts went to Viennese master Michael Khöll and imperial quarry master Ambrosius Ferrethi, along with his sons-in-law Giovanni Battista Passerini and Martin Trumler. Prince Johann Adam I of Liechtenstein purchased the unfinished palace in 1694, designated it as the family majorat house, and had Gabriel de Gabrieli and Martinelli complete it by 1705. The Liechtenstein picture gallery occupied the second floor until 1806, when the palace was leased to Archdukes Johann and Ludwig and the artworks moved to the Garden Palace in the Rossau. The Russian embassy later occupied the building. Prince Alois II commissioned Peter Hubert Desvignes to redesign the interiors from 1836 to 1847, with Carl Leistler executing the work and Michael Thonet among the subcontractors. The eleven Desvignes renovations cost approximately eleven million gulden and introduced remarkable technical features including mirrored pivoting doors, an elevator, and an intercom system. The Princely Family relocated its residence to the Principality of Liechtenstein in 1938 to avoid contact with the Nazi regime, and the art collection was moved there for safekeeping during the war. The palace suffered severe damage from an aerial bomb and a crashed aircraft during World War II. Prince Hans Adam II recalled his first visit in 1953 to the damaged building. The palace was officially reopened on 9 April 2013 by Prince Hans Adam II in the presence of Federal President Heinz Fischer, with public access beginning in May 2013.

The Stadtpalais Liechtenstein now contains the 19th-century portion of the Princely Collections, while artworks from the 16th to 18th centuries are displayed at the Liechtenstein Garden Palace in the Rossau. This division reflects a deliberate curatorial separation between the Baroque and earlier holdings at the Garden Palace and the later, predominantly 19th-century works at the city palace. The princely collections are among the most important private art collections in the world, with their most significant Baroque works having been presented at the Garden Palace since 2004.

The palace's interiors themselves constitute notable holdings through their exceptional 19th-century decorative scheme. The ballroom represents the greatest concentration of decorative richness and technical ingenuity, surrounded by three corridors that can be expanded by raising the special mirrored and pivoting doors. The Desvignes interior features elegant bentwood floors by Michael Thonet, floral silk wall coverings and curtains from Viennese firms, and massive Parisian chandeliers. The sculptural portal decorations, attic sculpture, and interior sculptures by Giovanni Giuliani, along with stuccowork by Santino Bussi, survive from the Baroque period. The main staircase of Kaiser stone was erected in 1699 by Michael Khöll and Wolfgang Steinbock, with stair treads from the Kaisersteinbruch quarry. The palace was also known for its significant painting collection when the Liechtenstein picture gallery occupied the second floor until 1806.

The palace stands at Bankgasse 9, corner of Lowelstrasse 10, with additional frontages at Abraham-a-Sancta-Clara-Gasse 1 and Minoritenplatz 4. Its main entrance faces the south wing of the Burgtheater, opened in 1888. The Bankgasse was named after the Austrian National Bank, which sat at the other end of the street from 1821 to 1860; the street was previously called Vordere Schenkenstrasse. From the eastern front on Lowelstrasse, first mentioned in 1786, one could see over the city wall until its demolition in 1861-1863. The glacis behind it was partially built over during the construction of the Vienna Ringstrasse, though not directly before the palace; instead, the city wall was moved outward in 1821 and the Volksgarten park was created opposite the Lowelstrasse欢front in 1823. Today this view encompasses the Burgtheater, Volksgarten, Vienna City Hall, Parliament, Natural History Museum, and Heldenplatz before the Hofburg. Martinelli created the first monumental Baroque portal in Vienna on the Bankgasse facade. The side portal on Minoritenplatz and the staircase are associated with Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. The Italian Wikipedia notes the building was inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Palazzo Chigi-Odescalchi. The palace is considered one of the finest achievements of Austrian Baroque architecture.

Stadtpalais Liechtenstein is open to the public for guided tours every second Friday since May 2013, and is available for rented events. The palace is owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein and serves as their majorat house in Vienna. The official website at palaisliechtenstein.com provides further information. The building's present role combines its function as a private princely residence with public access to its collections and spaces, representing a model of aristocratic heritage management in contemporary Austria.