Recharge in Nature

It took me some time to find my personal oasis in Vienna—the Belvedere Gardens, hidden in plain sight in the heart of the city. Born and raised in Innsbruck, I came to Vienna to study. I lived in a completely different part of the town, so I barely noticed the palace grounds at first. Later, various jobs took me to Asia, the United States, and Germany.

Eventually, I returned to Vienna, found a new home in the 3rd district, and was immediately drawn to the Belvedere. Since I love running, the park quickly became my ideal workout zone. When time is short, I head to the Lower Belvedere, run a few laps, and head back home—the perfect route to clear my head and unwind after a day at the office.

For longer runs, I start in the Botanical Garden, pass through the Schweizergarten, take in a stretch of the Sonnwendviertel, and finish with the full length of the Belvedere. The highlight—and often my moment to catch my breath—is the view from the upper palace: across the airy and elegant Baroque gardens, the city center, and the Vienna Woods—the famous Canaletto View. It is unbeatable, especially in spring, when the days grow longer and the colors return, inspiring and soothing all at once. That is when the palace gardens become a true charging station in nature—for body and soul.

The wind in Vienna, especially on the Belvedere knoll, can be fierce at times. But when I walk—or run—from the menagerie at the Schlosscafé through the upper gate and then turn an immediate left toward the side wing, where a plaque commemorates the composer Anton Bruckner, who spent the last months of his life there, I reach a sheltered corner, protected from the gusts.

There, or perhaps at the very spot where Canaletto might have set up his view of the city, or in one of the symmetrical quadrangles at the Lower Belvedere, I relish the perspectives of the gardens, so clearly structured and yet so refined. As a designer, I am reminded that the simplest things often have the greatest impact.

If I had one wish, it is that the Belvedere Gardens would stay open a little longer — so that those of us who live nearby, locals and visitors alike, can make the most of this invigorating refuge.

Article first published in "Belvedere Kunstmagazin" no. 1-2024.