Vienna is one of the most beautiful and oldest cities in the world. Its history goes back to the time of the ancient Romans. Vienna remembers both the invasions of the Roman legions and the barbarian campaigns, and after all this, the knightly era began. The Mongol horde, the Ottoman Empire… The soul of this city keeps many memories. Modern Vienna has become a focus of sophistication and majesty, luxury and modernity.
Vienna museums as keepers of the past
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is a treasure trove of historical and cultural monuments, with countless masterpieces of recognized geniuses: Rubens, Rembrandt, Titian and others. Paintings by Schiele and Klimt can be seen in the beautiful Belvedere, a monument of the Baroque era.
Vienna is famous not only for general museums. Here you can visit the monastery of Sigmund Freud. His apartment has been converted into a private museum, which also includes his office and reception area.
Contemporary art in Vienna has not gone unnoticed. A whole block is dedicated to him - the Museum of Modern Art of the Ludwig Foundation, the Leopold Museum and others. Excursions in Vienna necessarily include visits to establishments representing modernart.
Such an artistic direction as graphics has also found itself. You can get acquainted with him in the luxurious impressive palace-museum "Albertina". Vienna shows a wide variety of genres, and the last mentioned gallery is of particular tourist interest.
Gallery overview
The museum is located in the center of Vienna. The gallery building is a former palace that belonged to Archduke Albrecht. The Albertina Museum in Vienna is the custodian of 65,000 drawings and almost a million printed graphic works. Collection coverage - from late Gothic to contemporary art.
The gallery got its name on behalf of the duke who founded it - Albert of Saxony-Teschen.
Gallery history
The ruler of the kingdom of Hungary (from 1765 to 1781) Albert, who was a duke, in the 70s of the 18th century began to collect a collection of graphic works. He kept it in the residence, which is located in an impressive building - the royal castle of Bratislava. The Albertina Gallery was founded on July 4, 1776. Many people are trying to find a connection between this event and the declaration of independence of the United States of America, but, unfortunately for them, this is a mere coincidence.
In 1795, the art collection moved to the current building. Especially for the gallery, it was rebuilt, as it did not correspond to the new purpose. 1822 was the yearpublic opening of the exhibition. Not only nobles could visit Albertina, and there was only one entrance condition - that the visitor had his own shoes.
Now it seems strange to us, but at the time it was important. Thus, the gallery was open to many. Soon, Duke Albert dies, and the collection and the building are transferred to Archduke Charles, and after him to Albrecht Friedrich of Austria and Archduke Friedrich of Austria. And at that moment, the exposition begins to expand.
The history of the gallery in the 20th century
In 1919, in the spring, the owner of the Albertina changes - it becomes the Republic of Austria. The following year, the treasures of the gallery were merged with the fund of printed graphics, which was owned by the royal court library.
In 1921 both the art collection and the building were officially named Albertina. Vienna opens a new era in the museum field.
Large-scale reconstruction
For almost 8 years, this art gallery in Vienna has been closed to the public. It was reconstructed from 1996 to 2003. It is easy to guess which place became the most visited after just a year. That's right, Albertina. Vienna has not known such a number of visits to one institution for a long time. The exposition of the museum is very rich.
Today it includes works by such recognized masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Peter Paul Rubens, Oskar Kokoschka,Rembrandt, Albrecht Dürer, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Cezanne, Rauschenberg. Special exhibitions are often held. For example, 2006 was remembered for the exposition dedicated to Picasso.
Ceremonial halls
In our time, all excursions in Vienna must include a visit to "Albertina" in their program. But this gallery is significant not only because it exhibits artistic masterpieces. The building itself is also a monument of national culture. The long-beloved daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, Archduchess Marie-Christine, walked along the front halls where the Habsburgs lived, and after her, these halls remember the adopted son of the Archduke Charles, the winner of the Battle of Aspern against Napoleon. Luminous yellow, green, turquoise colors are the colors of a bygone era. The furnishings of the halls are filled with genuine furniture to the maximum in order to take the visitor back several hundred years. The gilding consists of a special "albertino gold", the pink and ebony parquet floors are simply amazing.
Mecca of true connoisseurs of art is "Albertina". Vienna is waiting for every visitor who wants to plunge into the world of masterpieces and inspiration, as well as into bygone eras and see a huge number of world attractions.
Streets, facades of buildings, national cuisine - all this beckons and attracts. It is impossible not to be enriched spiritually, being in this world pearl-capital. Vienna is rightfully considered one of the most comfortable cities for living, which is noted by all visiting tourists. Originality and beauty are intertwined instriking patterns, architecture and atmosphere. It is impossible not to fall in love with Vienna at first sight. And there is hardly a single person who is ready to argue with this.
