The Mirabell Palace
A gift of love that Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau
The Mirabell Palace
A unique treasure
Prince Archbishop Franz Anton Prince von Harrach had Mirabell Palace generously rebuilt by the famous Baroque master builder Lukas von Hildebrandt from 1721 to 1727 and combined into a closed complex. The great city fire on April 30, 1818 severely damaged the castle: however, the Mamor Hall and the Mamor Staircase remained intact. The staircase by master Lukas von Hildebrandt with its graceful angel figures is one of the greatest treasures of Mirabell Palace. The sculptures in the niches are masterpieces of the famous Georg Raphael Donner. Peter de Nobile gave Mirabell Palace its present form.
Mirabell Palace and Mirabell Gardens
A gift of love that Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau
It was a gift of love that Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau had built for his Salome Alt. In 1606, Altenau Castle was built and later renamed Mirabell by Markus Sitticus. In 1854, the Mirabell Gardens were opened to the public by Emperor Franz Joseph and still present themselves today as a garden-architectural gem and popular photo motif.
The Mirabell Garden
A baroque pleasure garden in the city center
The Mirabell Gardens were redesigned under Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun around 1690. The basic geometric shape characteristic of the Baroque period can still be seen. Its visual alignment with the cathedral and fortress gives the garden a grandiose effect – and at the same time incorporates it into the entirety of the historic cityscape. The type of this early Baroque garden includes in particular the floral ornaments, trimmed trees, ornamental vases and balustrades. Later remodeling brought late Baroque variety of forms to the original unity of the complex. Newly delineated garden spaces were created, such as the lime and beech trellis walkways, a hedge theater, and the bastion garden. Fountains and lively stone figures enrich the beauty of the garden.
Mirabell is a female given name from Italy and is composed of mirabile' admirable' and bella' beautiful.
