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Winter palace
The Hofburg was the imperial winter residence of the Habsburgs
The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. It was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence.
The seat
The palace housed emperors until 1918, and the president since 1946
From 1438 to 1583, and again from 1612 to 1806, it was the seat of the Habsburg kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, and until 1918 the seat of the Emperors of Austria. Since 1946 it has been the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria.
Swiss Court
The oldest parts form the Swiss Court, with a chapel and the treasury
The oldest parts of the palace date from the 13th century. The castle originally had a square outline with four turrets and a moat. These sections now form the Swiss Court, with a gothic chapel from the 15th century and the treasury. The Vienna Boys' Choir traditionally sings mass in the court chapel on Sundays.
The library
The Prunksaal holds the book collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy
The Court Library was begun by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and finished by his son Joseph Emanuel in 1735. Its large Prunksaal hall contains the book collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy, an enormous ceiling fresco by Daniel Gran, and statues of emperors by Paul Strudel.
Neue Burg
The Neue Burg was built from 1881 and completed in 1913
The architects of the Neue Burg built it between 1881 and 1913. The palace faces the Heldenplatz, ordered under Emperor Franz Joseph I as part of what was planned to become the Kaiserforum, which was never completed.
Day 1, midday
It comes after St. Stephen's Cathedral. Then Spanish Riding School.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Hofburg, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.