Hofburg Imperial Palace
The Hofburg Imperial Palace is definitely a must see if visiting Vienna. The complex structure located in the very city centre served as winter residence of the Habsburg dynasty, one of the most important royal houses in Europe. Today, the place serves as the official residence of the President of Austria but parts of the complex also serve as museums and are open to visitors.
The oldest sections of the Hofburg complex that form a square known as the Swiss Wing (Schweizertrakt) date back to the 13th century and were most likely built by the House of Babenberg which ruled Austria before the Habsburgs or Ottokar II of Bohemia, a rival to the first Holy Roman Emperor of the House of Habsburg - Rudolph I. The original medieval fortified castle changed a lot over the following centuries and palace complex was constantly being expanded with new structures eventually becoming a city within a city. The Hofburg Imperial Palace complex covers 240,00 square meters (2, 583 338 square feet) and consists of 18 wings with 2,600 rooms and 19 courtyards.
The Swiss Gate (Schweizertor) housing the Imperial Treasury including the Imperial Insignia of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire was built in 1552 after the design of Pietro Ferrabosco. Opposite to the Swiss Gate is the Amalienburg named after Wilhemina Amalia, widow of Joseph I which was originally constructed as a free-standing building by Emperor Rudolph II in the 16th century. Emperor Leopold I connected both buildings with the Leopoldine Wing (Leopoldinisher Trakt) but the wing was rebuilt by architect Giovanni Pietro Tencala who added an additional floor after the Siege of Vienna of 1683 by the Turks. Today, the Leopoldine Wing houses the offices of the President of Austria.
The Imperial Stables (Stallburg) housing the Lipizzan stallions since the 18th century were originally built as a residential area for at the time crowned prince Maximilian II in the 16th century. The Hofburg Imperial Palace went through further extensions in the 18th century when were built the Court Library (today the Austrian National Library) housing collections of books of the Imperial family, the Imperial Chancellery Wing that was later converted into residential area, the Winter Riding School and the Redoutensäle (ball rooms). The spectacular Hall of Ceremonies was built at the beginning of 19th century and the St. Michael Wing (Michaeltrakt) at the end of the 19th century.
At the beginning of the 20th century, shortly before downfall of the monarchy was built the New Hofburg across the Heroes Square (Heldenplatz) which houses several museums and reading rooms of the Austrian National Library.