Vienna, Parliament:
Theophil von Hansen, 1873-1883
The Austrian Parliament Building,
(German: Parlament or Hohes Haus, formerly the Reichsratsgebäude), is
where the two Houses of the Parliament of Austria conduct their sittings.
The building lies at the Ringstraße in the first district Innere Stadt
in Vienna, close by the Hofburg Imperial Palace and the Palace of
Justice.
The main construction lasted from 1874 to
1883. The architect responsible for the building was Baron Theophil von
Hansen, the building is an example of Greek revival. The architect von
Hansen designed the building as an ensemble, where each piece harmonised
with the rest. He was therefore also responsible for the interior
decoration such as statues, paintings, furniture, chandeliers, and other
elements. One of the building's most famous features is the statue of
Athena and the fountain, a notable Viennese tourist attraction. Despite
heavy damages and destruction during World War II, most of the interior
has been restored to its original appearance.
The parliament building covers over 13,500 square meters, making it one
of the largest structures on the Ringstraße. It was constructed to house
the two chambers of the Reichsrat, the legislature of the Austrian part
(Cisleithania) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, the parliament
building is seat of the National Council (Nationalrat) and the Federal
Council (Bundesrat). It contains over 100 rooms, the most important of
which are the Chambers of the National Council, the Federal Council and
the former imperial House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus). The
building also includes committee rooms, libraries, lobbies,
dining-rooms, bars and gymnasiums. It is the site of important state
ceremonies, most notably the swearing-in ceremony of the President of
Austria and the state speech on National Day on each October 26. The
building is very closely associated with the two Houses, as shown by the
use of "Hohes Haus" as a metonym for "Parliament". Parliamentary offices
overspill into nearby buildings such as the Palais Epstein.
Pallas-Athene-Fountain
The Athena Fountain (Pallas-Athene-Brunnen) in front of the
Parliament was erected between 1893 and 1902 by Carl Kundmann,
Josef Tautenhayn, and Hugo Haerdlt, based on the plans by Baron
von Hansen. In the middle is a water-basin and a richly
decorated base. The four lying figures at the foot of Athena are
allegorical representations of the four most important rivers of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They represent at the front the
Danube and Inn, in the back part the Elbe and Moldau rivers.
On the sides are little cupids riding dolphins.
The statues of the Danube, Inn, and the cupids were executed by
Haerdtl, those of the Elbe and Moldau by Kundmann. The female
statues above represent the legislative and executive powers of the
state, executed by Tautenhayn. They are again dominated by the
Goddess of Wisdom, Athena standing on a pillar. Athena is dressed in
armor with a gilded helmet, her left hand carries a spear, her right
carries Nike.
Former House of
Representatives Chamber
The chamber of the former House of Representatives
(Abgeordnetenhaus) is used today by the Federal Assembly
(Bundesversammlung) whenever it convenes for special occasions
such as National Day and the inauguration ceremony of a
newly-elected Federal President of Austria.
The chamber is built in a semi-circle with 34
meters in diameter and 22.5 meters in depth. The chamber of the
former House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) is used today by
the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) whenever it convenes for
special occasions such as National Day and the inauguration ceremony
of a newly-elected Federal President of Austria. The chamber is
built in a semi-circle with 34 meters in diameter and 22.5 meters in
depth.
It originally contained 364 seats. With the introduction of various
electoral reforms, the number was increased to 425 seats in 1896 and
with the introduction of the male universal suffrage in 1907 to 516
seats.
The chamber has viewing galleries on two levels. The first gallery
has in the middle the box for the head of state. The right side of
the gallery is for the diplomatic corps and the left side for the
cabinet and family members of the head of state. On both far ends
are the seats for journalists. The gallery on the second level,
which is slightly recessed from the one on the first level, is for
the general public.
The chamber is architecturally based on an ancient Greek theatron.
The wall behind the presidium is designed like an antique skene with
marble colonnades that carry a gable. The group of figures in the
gable are made ouf of Laas-marble and depict the allegorical times
of the day. The columns and pilasters of the wall are made out of
marble from Untersberg, the stylobates out of dark marble, the
decorations of the doors out of red Salzburg-marble. The wall space
between the pillars is made out of grey scagliola, with niches in
between decorated with statues made out of Carrara-marble. The
statues show historical persons such as Numa Pompilius, Cincinnatus,
Quintus Fabius Maximus, Cato the Elder, Gaius Gracchus, Cicero,
Manlius Torquatus, Augustus, Seneca the Younger and Constantine the
Great. The friezes above were painted by August Eisenmenger and
depict the history of the emergence of civic life.
Hall of Pillars
Located behind the entrance atrium is the grand Hall of
Pillars (Säulenhalle) or peristyle. The hall is about 40 meters
long and 23 meters broad. The 24 corinthian pillars are made out
of Adnet marble, all of them monoliths weighing around 16 tons
each. The pillars carry the skylight main ceiling in the middle
and the coffered side ceilings. The floor is made out of
polished marble, which rests on a concrete hull. The space below
was designed to be used as a hypocaust for floor heating and air
circulation system of the hall.
Located at the transverse axis on either ends
from the Hall of Pillars is the chamber of the former House of
Representatives (on the left side) and the chamber of the former
House of Lords (on the right side). The architect von Hansen's idea
was to have the Hall of Pillars as the main central part of the
building. It was designed to act as a meeting point between the
House of Lords and the House of Representatives. Hansen also wanted
to have the hall used by the monarch for the State Opening of
Parliament and the Speech from the Throne, similar to the British
tradition. However such ceremonies were never held in the building,
since Emperor Franz Joseph I had a personal disdain for the
parliamentary body. Speeches from the Throne in front of the
parliamentarians were held in the Hofburg Palace instead.
The Hall of Pillars is an epitome of classical perfection. The
architect von Hansen paid particular attention to the design and
construction of this hall. Not only architecturally and design-wise
is this his masterpiece, the building material itself is of the
highest quality. The marble floor was polished in a complicated
process. The capitals of the pillars were gilded with 23 carat (96%)
gold. Running around at the wall was a frieze, which was 126 meters
long and 2.3 meters tall. It was designed and painted by Eduard
Lebiedzki. The monumental piece of work took decades to prepare and
design, and it took four years, from 1907 until 1911, to paint. The
frieze showed allegories on a golden background, depicting the
duties of parliament.
History
The new imperial constitution (known as the
Februar-Patent) promulgated in 1861 created the Reichsrat as an
effective legislature. For that purpose, a new building had to be
constructed to house this constitutional organ. The original plan
was to construct two separate buildings for each chamber, one for
the House of Lords and one for the House of Representatives. However
after the Ausgleich which effectively created the Dual-Monarchy in
1867, Hungary received its own separate legislative body, and the
original plan for two buildings was dropped.
The precursor to the present building was the temporary House of
Deputies or Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus), located at Währinger
Straße, which was erected within six weeks. In its layout the
Abgeordnetenhaus would be a model for the later parliament building.
This temporary structure was opened in 1861 by Emperor Franz Joseph
I of Austria. The building was soon named afterwards named "Schmerlingtheater",
after its Speaker Anton von Schmerling. The "Schmerlingtheater" was
used by the deputies until the construction of the new building in
1884.
The site was the location of the city’s fortifications and walls. In
his famous decree (Es ist Mein Wille at Wikisource) in 1857, Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria laid down the plans of the Ringstraße
boulevard, which replaced the old walls. The parliament building was
supposed to feature prominently on the Ringstraße, in close
proximity to the Hofburg Palace and the city hall of Vienna.
An Imperial Commission was appointed to study the building of the
Parliament. The Commission decided that the building’s style should
be classical. Those who preferred the classical style argued that
classical Greek architecture was appropriate for Parliament, since
it is connected to the Ancient Greeks and the ideal of democracy.
After studying rival proposals, the Imperial Commission chose
Theophil von Hansen's plan for a classical style building. In 1869,
the Imperial and Royal Ministry of the Interior gave von Hansen the
order to design a new parliament building.
Ground was broken on June 1874, the cornerstone has the date “2.
September 1874“ etched into it. At the same time, work also
commenced on the nearby two imperial museums (Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Naturhistorisches Museum), the city hall and the university.
In November 1883 the offices of the House of Representatives were
completed and started being used. On December 4, 1883 the House of
Representatives held its first session under its president Franz
Smolka. On December 16, 1884, the House of Lords under its president
Count Trauttmansdorff held its first session. Both chambers would
continue to sit in the building until the end of the empire in 1918.
The fountain with the statue of Athena in front of the building was
designed by Baron Hansen as well, but only completed in 1898 to
1902. The official name of the building was Reichsratsgebäude (Council
of the Realm Building), the street behind the building
Reichsratsstraße still reminds of the former name. The word
Parliament however was in use since the beginning as well.
The building saw tumultuous years during the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, as the House of Representatives was extremely fractious
between liberals and conservatives, German-speaking nationalists and
Czech deputies, as well as the government and parliament. It became
a common feature of undisciplined deputies to throw inkwells at each
other. The joke on the street was that Athena was so disgusted by
the political infighting, that her statue purposely has her back
turned to the building.
Nevertheless the building housed the first form of a parliamentary
system for much of the people of Central Europe. Some of the former
deputies continued their political carriers after the fall of the
empire and became important politicians in their home countries.
The Reichsratsgebäude continued to function until 1918, when the
building was occupied by demonstrators during the end of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. From the ramp of the building, the First
Republic was officially proclaimed. The building itself was renamed
as “Parliament”, with the new republican National Council
(Nationalrat) and Federal Council (Bundesrat) replacing the old
imperial House of Deputies (Abgeordnetenhaus) and the House of Lords
(Herrenhaus). The parliament ceased to function with the
introduction of the Austro-fascist dictatorship and the Anschluß of
Austria to Nazi-Germany in 1938. Half of the building suffered heavy
damage or was destroyed, such as the former Lords Chamber and the
Hall of Columns, by Allied bombs in the course of the Second World
War. It was in the old Abgeordnetenhaus Chamber that the new
Chancellor Dr. Karl Renner declared the rebirth of an independent
Austria, helped by Soviet troops. Max Fellerer and Eugen Wörle were
commissioned as architect; they chose to redesign and readapt the
former Lords Chamber for the National Council, in the process the
meeting room of the National Council was rebuilt in a modern and
functional style. Work on the National Council Chamber was completed
in 1956. The original appearance of the other publicly accessible
premises and the building's external appearance were largely
restored to von Hansen's design, such as of the Hall of Columns.
Internet Portal
Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Praterstrasse 33/20
A-1020 Vienna
Tel: +43/01/9580808
Fax: +43/01/9580909
E-Mail: office@citype.com www.citype.com
FN 200659 m
ATU 50515900
WIEN-VIENNA.AT associates itself
with a liberal, tolerant, cosmopolitan, ecumenical and politically
neutral world view.
Diversity of information and the support of free formation of
opinion for people of every age, every social levels, cultures,
denominations and political orientations are matters of concern for
us.
WIEN-VIENNA.AT is a link and information platform with the aim to
inform about Vienna while at the same time creating a collection of
links from official and private Vienna-related internet pages. We
strive to maximise the density of the presented information about
Vienna. In part, contents of this link and information platform
originate from websites about Vienna. Images and texts where the
author is known are provided with an acknowledgement and a link to
the respective site. In case of breached property rights with
certain images, we kindly ask you to notify us and we will remove
the respective images or excerpts from the platform or we will add
an appropriate acknowledgement of ownership.
