The Vienna Hofburg 1918-2006

The proposed project adds to a study on the Hofburg buildings in Vienna, in which the art history commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is engaging and to which four FWF-funded research teams are already contributing. The surveyed period begins with the caesura of 1918, in its consequences unequalled in the history of the Hofburg. Topographically, the investigation spans the area from the Stallburg to what is now the Museumsquartier. Post-residential functions of the Hofburg complex will be viewed from an overall perspective, a novum in the history of Hofburg studies. The focus of questions, and answers, will be on the following fields: Developments on the architectonic and urbanistic levels: One of the most complex and historically most important structures in Europe, the Hofburg remained in the focus of architects and city planners even after its residence function had expired. A symbol of power, this area carried a strong political message, and so did architectonic and urbanistic projects that affected its appearance. They will be reviewed against the background of the changing political systems. How was the Hofburg area seen at different periods of time, what esteem had Hofburg architecture and history under the different regimes? After the end of the Nazi regime - with memories of Hitler`s historic Anschluss speech on the Hofburg balcony and of monumental Nazi projects for this area (including the positioning of a tower for anti-aircraft artillery alongside the axis of the once projected Emperor`s Forum) still fresh - grand-scale solutions for the complex of Hofburg buildings remained sort of taboos for several decades. Because of the absence of institutional and functional links and also as a result of the way traffic was developing since the 1960s, the Hofburg was no longer conceived in its traditional form of an entity. When not long ago the Museumsquartier was established, this overall aspect of the area gained in importance again: With the Hofburg`s general musealisation since the 1990s, the area from the former court stables to the old palace was given a new functional context, which caused re-organisation and new solutions on the urbanistic level. This development must be studied in comparison with the histories of similar buildings elsewhere in Europe (Paris, Berlin, Prague, among others). Function, use and significance: The focus must be on the Hofburg`s development from an imperial residence and power centre to a conglomerate of politics - official seat of the Austrian federal president! -, economy, culture, science, and administration and to a hotspot of tourism. To be considered in detail is the phenomenon of musealisation which shaped, and shapes, the Hofburg history in the 20th and 21st centuries. The Outer Palace Gate (Äußeres Burgtor) is studied in its administrative, ideological and utilitarian dimensions and as a projection plane of "Austrian" identity. To investigate the way the Hofburg area has been used for a central stage in socio-political occurrences of Austria`s post-1918 history is another aim of this study. Gardens and open spaces: When the Hofburg ceased to be an imperial power centre and became a complex of multifunctional buildings and seat of the highest representative of a democratic state, gardens and open spaces, and their uses, were changing, too. The analysis is to focus on changing demands and on the resulting re-structuring and design activities in the gardens and horticulturally used spaces. The post-1918 Hofburg image in the print media and on posters: Who are the social groupings who use Hofburg interiors and surroundings for the staging of significant events, and for what reasons? How are organisers of ephemeral stage-settings connected with the permanent users of Hofburg buildings? What are the messages the Hofburg is to convey on these occasions? And do messages differ as political systems and regimes change? The investigation approaches these questions through discourse analysis, focusing on major events that took place on Hofburg grounds and were mirrored in pictures of the press media and on posters. The image of the Hofburg in works of literature, cinema and TV coverage: As a location for the specific image Austria is identified with, the Hofburg and connected open spaces played an essential role in 20th -century works of Austrian literature, film and TV coverage. Studies in this field are likely to shed new light on the Hofburg issue and make an even broader range of audiences understand the complexity of its political and cultural dimensions. Methology: To find answers to the posed questions, the largely unexplored files, plans and pictorial sources in various archives need to be examined, evaluated and analysed. In addition, researchers on 20th - and 21st- century issues will have to tap new sources - filmic and audio materials, interviews - and pay special regard to aspects of the cultural sciences and to an interdisciplinary approach to the questions.

The proposed project adds to a study on the Hofburg buildings in Vienna, in which the art history commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is engaging and to which four FWF-funded research teams are already contributing. The surveyed period begins with the caesura of 1918, in its consequences unequalled in the history of the Hofburg. Topographically, the investigation spans the area from the Stallburg to what is now the Museumsquartier. Post-residential functions of the Hofburg complex will be viewed from an overall perspective, a novum in the history of Hofburg studies. The focus of questions, and answers, will be on the following fields: Developments on the architectonic and urbanistic levels: One of the most complex and historically most important structures in Europe, the Hofburg remained in the focus of architects and city planners even after its residence function had expired. A symbol of power, this area carried a strong political message, and so did architectonic and urbanistic projects that affected its appearance. They will be reviewed against the background of the changing political systems. How was the Hofburg area seen at different periods of time, what esteem had Hofburg architecture and history under the different regimes? After the end of the Nazi regime - with memories of Hitler`s historic Anschluss speech on the Hofburg balcony and of monumental Nazi projects for this area (including the positioning of a tower for anti-aircraft artillery alongside the axis of the once projected Emperor`s Forum) still fresh - grand-scale solutions for the complex of Hofburg buildings remained sort of taboos for several decades. Because of the absence of institutional and functional links and also as a result of the way traffic was developing since the 1960s, the Hofburg was no longer conceived in its traditional form of an entity. When not long ago the Museumsquartier was established, this overall aspect of the area gained in importance again: With the Hofburg`s general musealisation since the 1990s, the area from the former court stables to the old palace was given a new functional context, which caused re-organisation and new solutions on the urbanistic level. This development must be studied in comparison with the histories of similar buildings elsewhere in Europe (Paris, Berlin, Prague, among others). Function, use and significance: The focus must be on the Hofburg`s development from an imperial residence and power centre to a conglomerate of politics - official seat of the Austrian federal president! -, economy, culture, science, and administration and to a hotspot of tourism. To be considered in detail is the phenomenon of musealisation which shaped, and shapes, the Hofburg history in the 20th and 21st centuries. The Outer Palace Gate (Äußeres Burgtor) is studied in its administrative, ideological and utilitarian dimensions and as a projection plane of "Austrian" identity. To investigate the way the Hofburg area has been used for a central stage in socio-political occurrences of Austria`s post-1918 history is another aim of this study. Gardens and open spaces: When the Hofburg ceased to be an imperial power centre and became a complex of multifunctional buildings and seat of the highest representative of a democratic state, gardens and open spaces, and their uses, were changing, too. The analysis is to focus on changing demands and on the resulting re-structuring and design activities in the gardens and horticulturally used spaces. The post-1918 Hofburg image in the print media and on posters: Who are the social groupings who use Hofburg interiors and surroundings for the staging of significant events, and for what reasons? How are organisers of ephemeral stage-settings connected with the permanent users of Hofburg buildings? What are the messages the Hofburg is to convey on these occasions? And do messages differ as political systems and regimes change? The investigation approaches these questions through discourse analysis, focusing on major events that took place on Hofburg grounds and were mirrored in pictures of the press media and on posters. The image of the Hofburg in works of literature, cinema and TV coverage: As a location for the specific image Austria is identified with, the Hofburg and connected open spaces played an essential role in 20th -century works of Austrian literature, film and TV coverage. Studies in this field are likely to shed new light on the Hofburg issue and make an even broader range of audiences understand the complexity of its political and cultural dimensions. Methology: To find answers to the posed questions, the largely unexplored files, plans and pictorial sources in various archives need to be examined, evaluated and analysed. In addition, researchers on 20th - and 21st- century issues will have to tap new sources - filmic and audio materials, interviews - and pay special regard to aspects of the cultural sciences and to an interdisciplinary approach to the questions.