Belvedere

Kiss me, Klimt

Prinz-Eugen-Strasse 27
1030 Vienna
Daily, 10:00-18:00
+43179557134
www.belvedere.at
at Sudtirolerplatz; 13A at Südbahnhof; D at Schloss Belvedere

Visitors on the lookout for Gustav Klimt’s golden portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer are out of luck. In the wake of a legal battle before the US Supreme Court, the painting was returned to Adele’s heirs in 2006, and now stars at Neue Galerie New York, the museum for German and Austrian art owned by cosmetics magnate Ronald Lauder.

In fact, Adele’s portrait is but one of a total of ten major Klimt paintings that the Belvedere has returned since 1998, following Austria’s adoption of a new bill to govern the restitution of Holocaust-era art from its federal collections. Even so, the Belvedere still boasts the world’s most impressive collection of Klimt works, including such iconic masterpieces as “The Kiss” and “Judith”.

Built in the early 1770s, the Belvedere was once the royal summer retreat of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Today, the elegant baroque ensemble is the perfect backdrop to one of Vienna’s most renowned museums that specializes on Austrian 19th and 20th century art. Its permanent collection, with works by Austrian modernists Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, is truly unrivaled.

Soak in spectacular views of the city from the Upper Belvedere, the splendid garden palace that was the site of the historic signing of Austria’s state treaty in 1955, and stroll through the expansive palace grounds before heading back to the city center.