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In 1717, the decision was made to build the Upper Belvedere. Construction took place between 1721 and 1722 and the interior decoration was completed the following year. The garden palace primarily served the purpose of pomp and display. This is reflected in the elegant sala terrena (today the entrance hall), the grand staircase, the magnificent Marble Hall, rooms sumptuously embellished with stucco and frescos (frescos by Carlo Carlone [1686-1775], ceiling paintings by Giacomo del Pò) and the chapel with the exquisite altarpiece by Francesco Solimena (1657-1747).
The Upper Belvedere after Prince Eugene
During the Biedermeier era, the Belvedere was popular not only as a museum, but also as a venue for all sorts of events, from firework displays to circus performances, even Eskimo show rides. In winter the pond was transformed into a skating rink. In 1848, the Belvedere Park became a military camp for the Mobile Guard, which fought against the imperial troops. Afterwards, the director of the Belvedere at the time, J.P. Krafft, carried out extensive restoration and refurbishments of the baroque substance and created the present-day accesses to the palace complex. In 1891, the imperial painting collection was relocated from the Belvedere to the recently opened Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The Upper Belvedere underwent a period of reconstruction and modernisation from 1897, based on plans by the architect E. von Förster and commissioned by the Austrian crown prince Franz Ferdinand, so that the imperial family was able reside there from 1899. After the crown prince and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the palace stood empty. In 1919, the Belvedere passed into the ownership of the Republic of Austria and was successively adapted as a museum. Bomb attacks in 1944 and 1945 did great damage to both palaces, which were carefully restored after the war. The most important event in Austria’s post-war history was the ceremonial signing of the Austrian State Treaty on 15 May 1955 in the Marble Hall of the Upper Belvedere, restoring sovereignty to Austria. The Marble Hall is the central ceremonial room of the Upper Belvedere and is open to the public.
