Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

The Liechtenstein Museum, one of Vienna's pearls, is an 18th-century palace once owned by Prince Liechtenstein. By default, the museum presents the private art collection of Prince Liechtenstein. Today, this museum is among the few buildings in northern Alsergrund that have preserved their ancient architecture and are in no way inferior to the look and feel of the new buildings. The museum is built on two levels and definitely offers its visitors a wide variety of paintings and sculptures, but also a library with very interesting books, which are more than 100 thousand.
The Liechtenstein Museum is a beautifully preserved exhibit of Baroque architecture, featuring traditional marble halls, "grand staircases" and a number of other remarkable creations by Santio Bussi. The exterior of the museum impresses with the outer garden, again in magnificent Baroque style, recreated on the model of an English landscape park, but with Baroque statues. The greatest pride of the museum, however, is the Peter Paul Rubens room, which houses the huge cycle Decius Mus, a majestic painting representing the death of the consul in eight pictorial cycles.
The history of the palace began to be written at the end of the 17th century, when Johann Adam I Liechtenstein commissioned its design. The prince wished to erect a palace that would characterize and symbolize his growing political power and wealth. Initially, Johann Fischer von Erlach was involved, but the actual construction of the palace was started by the Italian architect Domenico Egidio Rossi, who was later replaced by the Italian Domenico Martinelli.
The transfer of the rich collection of works of art to the Lichtenstein family began at the end of the 18th century. In order to find room for all the paintings, the prince orders windows to be boarded up and doors to be closed. Photographs taken dating back to the 19th century suggest that this was a truly famous collection, containing works of art of all kinds, from giant oil paintings to exquisite Chinese porcelain.
After the family left the palace in 1938, its building acquired different uses. The period 1979-2000, when the palace housed MUMOK, stands out. A period of serious restoration followed in the period 2000-2004, after which the Liechtenstein Palace took on the appearance of a 21st century museum.
Today, the Liechtenstein Museum welcomes its visitors through a spacious bright colonnaded terrace, where the gingerbread French carriage, decorated with gilding, painted panels and hundreds of carved figures, stands out. The main galleries of the museum are accessed by two curved marble staircases. The ceiling above the stairs is impressive - it is decorated with frescoes by the Austrian Baroque artist Johann Rothmayr. The most memorable of the frescoes are two - the one depicting Prince Lichtenstein climbing Mount Olympus, and the other - the battle between the ancient gods and the ancient Greeks.
The Liechtenstein Museum is extremely proud of its collection. It is one of the richest and most remarkable private collections in the world and has been collected over 400 years by many generations of princes of the Liechtenstein family. Among the exhibits in the collection stand out works by Peter Paul Rubens, Anton van Dyck, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Raphael, Rembrandt van Rijn and Solomon van Reisdal. In addition to canvases by famous artists, the Liechtenstein Museum houses a rich collection of fine porcelain, bronze statues and furniture. In addition to its galleries, the Liechtenstein Museum is also proud of its glamorous Hercules Hall. Every Sunday it opens its doors to visitors who come to enjoy wonderful chamber concerts with classical music.