25 June 2020

19th century pink gym-trousers by Empress Sisi and Baroque entertainment garden architecture seen at Prince Eugen's palaces Schloss Niederweiden and Schloss Hof in Lower Austria

The two palaces can be reached in around 50 minutes from Vienna. Fashion.at started the palace tour at Schloss Niederweiden where currently the life and style of Empress Sisi (1837 - 1898) are presented in a not lengthy and especially for visitors, who are interested in fashion, entertaining exhibition (open until 20 November, info Deutsch / English) of items such as the sporty woman's pink gym-trousers. From wonderful summer dresses once worn at the Mediterranean Sea in Corfu by one of the most elegant women of her time - Sisi was client of the father of haute couture Charles Frederick Worth, to shoes with protective rain overshoes and riding pants which still show traces of horse rides through wind and weather,... the selection of 19th century items provide a glimpse into the beginnings of women's new 'active lifestyle'.

The exhibition is continued at Schloss Hof where several rooms are contributed to Sisi's son Rudolf, his love affairs and his tragic end. After the sunny insights into Sisi's life, the show about Rudolf appears like a shadow walk. It's not hard to boost someone's mood with a flower garden afterwards - but the enjoyable outdoor architecture of Schloss Hof is more than a nice arrangement. The seven terraces were reconstructed with the help of views once captured by painter Canaletto in the mid-18th century (1759-60) and provide insights into the life of Prince Eugen von Savoyen through esthetics of the 18th century which can be found also at Versailles in France or at Schloss Belvedere in Vienna.

At the entry to the garden from the palace, the first fountain shows the sculpture of goddess Cybele, representing Mother Earth, riding on a lion to the East. The fountain is located at the 3rd terrace and was already accessible during the last years. Brand new is the reconstruction of the 7th terrace. It's a long way to the end of the garden. Visitors come along attractions such as the 'Great Cascade' (5th terrace) with sculptures of Mars and Hercules as tribute to military commander and art connoisseur Prince Eugen until they reach the most playful part of the garden, the 7th terrace with maze, labyrinth, or two play fields which appear at first like small football fields. But they were made for another ball game: For bowling! The bowling greens are called in French 'boulingrin'. Another highlight at the 7th terrace is the 'Octagon' fountain which looks as it is depicted at Canaletto's painting. The fountain has its name from the form of the water basin. The sculpture in the middle shows three child figures (so called 'putti') playing with a dolphin. The 'March Gate' at the East end of the garden is decorated with mythological figures like god Hermes (Greek) respectively Mercury (Roman).

Images from left above: Fashion.at's Karin Sawetz visited yesterday on 24 June 2020 the exhibition 'Sisi - Woman and Empress' at Schloss Niederweiden in Lower Austria. The image right shows the 'Cybele' fountain at the 3rd terrace of the garden of Schloss Hof.
2nd row: The 'Great Cascade' from two perspectives.
3rd row: Bowling green, Octagon fountain, god Hermes respectively Mercury at the March Gate.

More pictures and closer information about the garden and its terraces is published at www.schlosshof.at in Deutsch and English.