The Austrian Parliament Building is a large structure with a total floor area of more than 13,500 square meters and located on the Ringstraße Boulevard in the first district of Vienna. It is today the seat of the two chambers: National Council (Nationalrat) and Federal Council (Bundesrat), who jointly represents the legislative power. The Austrian Parliament is also the site of important state ceremonies, most notably the swearing-in ceremony of the President of Austria.
It was originally built to house the two chambers of the Imperial Council (German: Reichsrat), which was the parliament of the Austrian part (Cisleithanien) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Imperial Council was a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of Lords (Herrenhaus) and the House of Deputies (Abgeordnetenhaus). In 1869, after studying rival proposals, Theophil Edvard von Hansen was chosen by the Imperial Commission to design a new parliament building. His plan was a classical building in a Greek revival style and was accepted due to its connection with Greece, the birthplace of democracy. The construction process lasted about 10 years, from 1874 to 1884. Since 1884 the Imperial Council met at the current Austrian Parliament Building.
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| Complete map of the Parliament |
Emperor Franz Joseph honored Theophil von Hansen with the title of Baron (Freiherr) for his great architectural works in Vienna. The Imperial Council of Austria continued to function until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918.
Exterior
In construction of the Parliament building (Reichsratsgebäude), Baron Theophil von Hansen chose the same design in neo-Greek style as he used before in the construction of the Zappeion in Athens. He also used specific type of white marble from the village of Laas in Tyrol as the building blocks for the façade and statues.
Pallas Athena Fountain
The impressive Athena Fountain in front of the main portal of the Parliament Building, was erected by Austrian sculptor, Carl Kundmann based on the plans by Theophil von Hansen between 1898 and 1902 to display a symbolic statue of Austria. The statue of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, peace, law and justice is depicted on a pillar, dressed in armor with a gilded helmet. She holds a spear in her left hand and Nike - the Winged Goddess of Victory - in her right hand. Statues of four owls are below the Athena’s figure, which are also symbols associated with her.
The two statues on the left and right sides of the Athena are allegories of the executive and legislative powers. The “legislative power” bears a tablet of the law in her hands, while the “executive power“ holds a sword of justice and a pair of scales. The four lying figures at the foot of Athena are allegorical representations of the four most important rivers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They represent at the front: the Danube and Inn, and in the back: the Elbe and Vltava (Moldau) rivers. On the sides are little cupids riding dolphins.
Four bronze statues of the horse tamers (Rossbändiger) designed by Josef Lax, are located along the Ringstraße and symbolizing the suppression of passion, which is an important precondition for parliamentary cooperation.
The ramp to the main entrance is decorated by eight seated marble figures of ancient Greek and Roman historians, remind the politicians of their responsibility to history. The historians are as follows: The Greek historians, Thucydides, Polybius, Xenophon, Herodotus and the Romans, Julius Caesar, Tacitus, Livy and Sallust.
Further bronze works are the eight quadriga on the roof, each displays a chariot pulled by four horses and driven by Nike, the goddess of victory. The gable is decorated with allegorical scenes of 17 provinces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and supported by eight Corinthian style pillars.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
Interior For the interior decoration Baron von Hansen used Ancient Greek architecture and symbols. The main entrance at the portico is a bronze replica of the portal of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis in Athens. Passing through the large entrance door, the vestibule of the building is the first interior area which contains six Ionic pillars. There are two staircases to the left and right which lead down to the lower ground floor of the building and the Visitor Center.
The wall niches above the staircases contain statues of ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Seen from the entrance starting from the left are Apollo, Athena, Zeus, Hera, Hephaestus and from the right Hermes, Demeter, Poseidon, Artemis and Ares. Above the niches, is a frieze painting by the Austrian artist Alois Hans Schram, running along the corridor and continuing in the atrium. The frieze is more than 100 meters long. It is an allegorical depiction of the blessing of Peace, the civic Virtues and Patriotism.
The Peristyle or the Hall of Pillars
The grand Hall of Pillars (Säulenhalle) is the main central part of the building and was designed by Theophil von Hansen to act as a meeting point between the House of Lords and the House of Representatives. The Hall is 40 meters long and 24 meters wide and consists of 24 Corinthian monoliths marble columns. The capitals of the pillars were gilded with 23 carat (96%) gold. The skylight ceiling was designed to take advantage of available daylight. The Hall was also heated by what was known as a hypocaust which was an ancient Roman system of under floor heating.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
Running around the hall on the upper parts of the marble walls was a 126 meters long frieze, painted by Eduard Lebiedzki and depicting the evolution of civilization, particularly in the Austrian lands on a golden background. During the Second World War, the hall was severely damaged by aerial bombs. At least two pillars and the skylight and also the gilded coffered ceiling were completely destroyed. A few parts of the frieze survived and the other parts were replaced with blank marble slabs. Although too much attention was paid for the restoration process, there is slight difference between the two reconstructed pillars and the original ones. The Hall of Pillars is currently used for parliamentary receptions and exhibitions. Politicians often use it as a backdrop for interviews.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
The Members' Consultation Room
This room is used by Members of Parliament to meet with citizens and also used for other purposes such as book presentations, award ceremonies and etc. as well. The doors are made of walnut wood with mahogany, rosewood and maple inlays, the door handles shaped like a snake. The walls are covered by scagliola panels. Scagliola is a special fresco technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inlays in marble.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
Reception Hall
The Reception Hall (German: Empfangssalon) is reserved to the President of the National Council for various events and to receive official guests from abroad. The room is fitted with wall decorations in stucco and a large glass skylight. The portraits on its walls show the Presidents of the National Council since 1945.
The Federal Assembly Chamber
The chamber of the former House of Deputies (Abgeordnetenhaus) at the time of the Monarchy is today the venue of the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) which meets on special occasions such as National Day and the swearing-in of the Federal President.
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
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| Photo by Amin.Mana |
The chamber is Semicircular in shape and topped by a hand-painted glass roof. The rows of seats are arranged like an ancient Greek amphitheater. The wall behind the President’s podium is fitted with a row of marble colonnades that carry a gable. The statues in the gable are made out of Laas marble and represent the times of the day in an allegorical way. The wall space between the pillars is made out of gray scagliola, and the niches in between decorated with statues of Roman politicians made out of Carrara marble. The friezes above were painted by August Eisenmenger and shows different scenes of Greek mythology and historical events and personalities belonging to the ancient Roman and Ancient Greece in fifteen separate panels. Note that the central panel, “Pericles orders sumptuous buildings to be erected“, shows Theophil von Hansen in the guise of the sculptor Phidias.
The National Council Chamber
The former meeting hall of the House of Lords (Ge: Herrenhaus) has been used since 1920 as the National Council Chamber. Herrenhaus was also designed in the classical style and inspired by the layout of a Greek theater. Although it was smaller than the Chamber of Deputies, it was more richly decorated and had a different color scheme, the wall behind the podium was fitted with statues of Greek personalities and the painted frieze above the columns represented scenes from ancient Greece. This hall was unfortunately completely destroyed in 1945 during aerial bombardments, and after the war it was completely rebuilt in a modern style. In its present form the chamber was completed in 1956. Except the eagle which is made of steel by the artist Rudolf Hoflehner, the hall doesn't have any specific decoration.
Other important rooms of the building are:
The Federal Council Chamber, which has been used for the sittings of the Federal Council of Austria (Bundesrat) since 1920.
The Budget Hall, which is richly decorated with marble and the coffered stucco ceiling in Renaissance style, bears the coats of arms of the seventeen kingdoms and lands represented in the Imperial Council .The two bronze chandeliers designed by Theophil von Hansen are the largest in the building.
Committee Rooms, which are available to the committees and sub-committees of both houses. The chandeliers in the committee rooms are still in their original condition and were manufactured for the Parliament Building by a firm in Bohemia.
