LIECHTENSTEIN MUSEUM Wien

THE HISTORIC GARDENS

From the late 17th century onwards, gardens became a major object of princely interest. As a consequence, they also came to play a significant role in both economic and artistic life. A testament to the family’s interest in plants and horticulture is the famous, fourteen-volume Codex Liechtenstein Liber regnis vegetabilis, which was written during the last third of the 18th century.




Left: Salomon Kleiner (1703–1761) Layout of the entire palace compound and baroque gardens, c. 1730 Right: Salomon Kleiner (1703–1761) View of the palace’s Pomeranzengarten, c. 1730



Baroque horticultural art

The original baroque gardens were the most important representative of baroque horticultural art in Vienna alongside the Belvedere Palace garden. With sculptures by Giovanni Giuliani and a diverse array of formal beds, it was truly a cosmos unto itself.

Plan for the palace landscape garden, late 18th century

The landscape garden

In the 18th century, the gardens were converted into an extensive English landscape garden with large expanses of water. The giant trees which today still stand between the two palaces bear impressive witness to this period.




Left: Historic photograph of the garden looking towards the new palace, built by Heinrich von Ferstel (1828–1883) Right: View of the garden in winter, looking towards the new palace

Cordula Liodl-Reisch
Plan for the new design of the historic gardens, 2003

The new design

The gardens’ new design, conceived and executed by the renowned landscape architect Cordula Loidl-Reisch, follows the double aim of remembering the baroque garden while also paying tribute to the idea of the nineteenth-century landscape garden.

The baroque garden parterre, located directly adjacent to the palace, will transition into the English garden. Between the historic and the new garden is a fountain nymph by Franz Anton Zauner, which has survived all the ravages of time where it stands today.

Leisure and relaxation

The historic gardens are designed to offer visitors space to relax in, whilst reawakening the original interplay between nature and art for all to experience.

A further attraction is the restaurant and its open-air dining areas. Also located in this urban oasis, it is a reminder of the original baroque joie de vivre that once regularly culminated in large garden parties.



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Blumengarten des Barock € 25,70




Der barocke Garten € 41,00