The Vienna Hofburg and the 19th century residence-building

The present application for an extension to the ongoing FWF project P17815-G06, "Die Wiener Hofburg von Kaiser Ferdinand I. (reg. 1835-1848) bis zum Ende der Monarchie: Baugeschichte, Funktion und Ikonologie" [the Vienna Hofburg from Emperor Ferdinand I (ruled 1835-1848) to the end of the monarchy: construction history, function, and iconology], due to be completed at the end of February 2008, is for one thing a continuation of the main themes forming the basis of the first project. For another, the research done by the project team over the past three years has made it clear - not least of all because of the unexpectedly large number of archival discoveries - that new points of view and issues must be taken into account. For this reason, this application consists of both a combination of issues covered by the current project and five new research areas (detailed in the application): "The Alte Burg in the Nineteenth Century", "The Hofburg in Its Relationship to the City of Vienna", "The History of the Coverage of the Hofburg in the Media of the Period", "The Old and the New Hofburg in a European Comparison: National - International - Supranational", and "The Hofburg as seen by All the Individuals Involved, Including the Decision-Makers", which should place the history of the Vienna Hofburg in a completely new light. The comparative point of view from a regional (urban), national, and international perspective thus gains a central significance. Within the framework of this research, it is regarded as imperative to document the changes in the imperial apartments of the Alte Burg on the basis of the exploratory test results, archival documents, pictorial sources, the extant furnishings in situ, and the furnishings preserved in the Hofmobiliendepot [court furniture depository] (today, the Bundesmobilienverwaltung). In addition, the choice of home décor at the Vienna court is to be compared with the general development of the style of home décor in Vienna and with that of Europe in the nineteenth century. Now that the phase of empirically oriented research has been completed, with its emphasis on source documentation as well as an analysis of materials relevant for the building and planning history, the evolution of the Vienna Hofburg between 1835 and 1918 will be contextualised and dealt with in the light of the history of the Old Imperial Palace, the town planning and urban development around it, and how it measured up within the European context. The supraregional perspective is at the same time not only a fundamental methodological necessity, but has been demonstrated in many documents to have been the contemporary point of view of the nineteenth century. On the basis of this work and as described in the present application, the compiled research findings will be able to be published after the second phase of the project has been approved.

The present application for an extension to the ongoing FWF project P17815-G06, "Die Wiener Hofburg von Kaiser Ferdinand I. (reg. 1835-1848) bis zum Ende der Monarchie: Baugeschichte, Funktion und Ikonologie" [the Vienna Hofburg from Emperor Ferdinand I (ruled 1835-1848) to the end of the monarchy: construction history, function, and iconology], due to be completed at the end of February 2008, is for one thing a continuation of the main themes forming the basis of the first project. For another, the research done by the project team over the past three years has made it clear - not least of all because of the unexpectedly large number of archival discoveries - that new points of view and issues must be taken into account. For this reason, this application consists of both a combination of issues covered by the current project and five new research areas (detailed in the application): "The Alte Burg in the Nineteenth Century", "The Hofburg in Its Relationship to the City of Vienna", "The History of the Coverage of the Hofburg in the Media of the Period", "The Old and the New Hofburg in a European Comparison: National - International - Supranational", and "The Hofburg as seen by All the Individuals Involved, Including the Decision-Makers", which should place the history of the Vienna Hofburg in a completely new light. The comparative point of view from a regional (urban), national, and international perspective thus gains a central significance. Within the framework of this research, it is regarded as imperative to document the changes in the imperial apartments of the Alte Burg on the basis of the exploratory test results, archival documents, pictorial sources, the extant furnishings in situ, and the furnishings preserved in the Hofmobiliendepot [court furniture depository] (today, the Bundesmobilienverwaltung). In addition, the choice of home décor at the Vienna court is to be compared with the general development of the style of home décor in Vienna and with that of Europe in the nineteenth century. Now that the phase of empirically oriented research has been completed, with its emphasis on source documentation as well as an analysis of materials relevant for the building and planning history, the evolution of the Vienna Hofburg between 1835 and 1918 will be contextualised and dealt with in the light of the history of the Old Imperial Palace, the town planning and urban development around it, and how it measured up within the European context. The supraregional perspective is at the same time not only a fundamental methodological necessity, but has been demonstrated in many documents to have been the contemporary point of view of the nineteenth century. On the basis of this work and as described in the present application, the compiled research findings will be able to be published after the second phase of the project has been approved.