Palais Erzherzog Ludwig Viktor


The Palais Erzherzog Ludwig Viktor is one of the best known Ringstraßenpalais in Vienna. It was built between 1863 and 1866. The first building to be built on the Schwarzenbergplatz, it is now a subsidiary house of the Burgtheater.

History

In 1861 the architect Heinrich Freiherr von Ferstel was commissioned to design a monument to Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg on Vienna's Glacis and a square named Schwarzenbergplatz. The Palais was the first building on this new square. It was built for Franz Joseph I of Austria's younger brother Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria, but it was only completed in 1866 and so he did not use it long before being banished to Schloss Klessheim in Salzburg.
After a major renovation, Franz Joseph I handed the building over to the Militärcasinoverein for "his officers forever".

Architecture

Attachment to the Burgtheater