Virtual Middle Ages. A New Look at Old Art

Discover the Belvedere's former Medieval Study Collection on a virtual tour: In 2020, the presentation that was previously on display in the Palace Stables at the Lower Belvedere was digitally scanned and transformed into an interactive 3-D showroom. Visitors to this online resource are invited to explore the secrets and anecdotes of a study collection whose earliest works date to the 1200s. Selected works are presented, explained, and further illustrated.

The Belvedere developed this project in 2020 in collaboration with BEKO Engineering & Informatik GmbH and students from the Institute of Art History at the University of Vienna. In multilayered documentation and videos, they deciphered the works of often anonymous artists, including the Master of the Legend Scenes and the Master of the St. Vitus Legend.

Palace Stables

Digital Tour

The Project Team

Students from the University of Vienna
Christina Ehmayer, Laura Gerstmann, Anna Maria Kalt, Katharina Lanzinger, Sali Parsa, Valerie Pauß, Sandra Rindler, Polina Tumanova-Litke
Lehrveranstaltungsleiterin: Elisabeth Sobieczky

Belvedere, Vienna
Johanna Aufreiter, Björn Blauensteiner, Christian Huemer, Oliver Khafagi, Susa Wögerbauer

BEKO Engineering & Informatik
Bernhard Sandriester, Marcus Fried

The digital showroom recreates the Palace Stables at the Lower Belvedere as they were in 2020. Before becoming a gallery, the stables once housed the personal horses of Prince Eugene of Savoy. In 2023, the Palace Stables became the home of the newly installed Study Collection Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Among the highlights of the virtual tour are the Medieval Majesties from St. Stephen’s Cathedral. As the Wien Museum underwent renovations from 2019 to 2022, these prominent loans took up residence in the Palace Stables. The digital version continues to offer a close-up view. A number of other exceptional objects can also be discovered on the tour, including Lucas Cranach The Elder’s Stigmatization of St. Francis. Previously displayed at the Palace Stables, this panel painting is currently featured in Picture This! The Belvedere Collection from Cranach to EXPORT at the Upper Belvedere.

Embark on an interactive journey through the former Palace Stables to learn more about these medieval treasures!