Belvedere, Vienna: Palace Museum & Baroque Gardens

Construction of the Lower Belvedere commenced by 1712, with Prince Eugene submitting a request for building inspection on July 5, 1713. Work progressed rapidly, and the Spanish Flanders ambassador visited the site in April 1716.

Prince Eugene of Savoy chose Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as the chief architect for the Belvedere project, rather than Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Hildebrandt, who had studied under Carlo Fontana in Rome and gained experience in fortifications, also designed other notable edifices for Prince Eugene.

Construction of the Lower Belvedere began by 1712. Marcantonio Chiarini began painting the quadratura in the central hall in 1715, and Dominique Girard significantly altered the garden plans between January and May 1717.

Construction of the Upper Belvedere began in 1717, and the building was finished in 1723. Interior decoration also commenced early, with commissions for altarpieces and frescoes.

The Baroque palace complex was constructed between 1712 and 1723 as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, situated on the south-eastern edge of Vienna.

After Prince Eugene's death and a period of inheritance disputes, Maria Theresa purchased the Belvedere estate in November 1752. The imperial couple, however, never moved into the Gartenpalais.

In 1776, Maria Theresa and Emperor Joseph II decided to transfer the Imperial Picture Gallery from the Imperial Stables to the Upper Belvedere, with the intention of making the collection accessible to the public.

The Imperial Picture Gallery in the Upper Belvedere opened to the public five years after its transfer in 1776, making it one of the first public museums in the world.

Following the cession of Tyrol to Bavaria in 1805, the imperial collection from Ambras Castle was moved to the Lower Belvedere by decree of Emperor Francis II in 1811, as it was too small for the collection.

From 1833 onwards, the Collection of Egyptian Antiquities and the Antiquities Room were added to the Ambras Collection in the Lower Belvedere, under the directorship of Moritz, Count of Dietrichstein-Proskau-Leslie.

The Lower Belvedere's function as a museum largely continued until the imperial collections were transferred to the newly built Kunsthistorisches Museum on Vienna's Ringstrasse in 1888–89.

In 1896, Emperor Franz Joseph I decided that the Upper Belvedere should serve as the official residence for the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who had the palace remodeled.

The Moderne Galerie, Austria's first state collection exclusively dedicated to modern art, opened on May 2, 1903, in the Lower Belvedere, driven by the instigation of the Vienna Secession.

In 1911, the Moderne Galerie was renamed the k.u.k. Staatsgalerie after its focus was expanded beyond modern art to include works from earlier eras.

Following the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, the Belvedere palace complex was nationalized, and its art collections were reorganized into the Austrian Gallery and Moderne Galerie.

During the 1921–23 reorganization, the Baroque Museum was added to the existing museum ensemble in the Lower Belvedere.

The Moderne Galerie was opened in the Orangery in 1929, continuing its role as a venue for modern and international art.

The Belvedere palaces suffered considerable damage during World War II, with parts of the Marble Hall and Hall of Grotesques destroyed. Postwar restoration efforts extended from 1945 to 1953.

In 1950, a major fire in the Golden Chamber on the upper floor of the Upper Belvedere destroyed several important rooms and artworks.

The Österreichische Galerie reopened its doors on February 4, 1953, following postwar restoration efforts.

The Museum of Medieval Austrian Art opened in the Orangery on December 5, 1953, expanding the museum offerings.

On March 20, 2020, the Austrian Advisory Commission recommended the restitution of Egon Schiele's painting 'Four Trees' to the heirs of Alice Morgenstern, who claimed it was looted.

In November 2006, after over fifty years of legal disputes, Edvard Munch's 'Summer Night at the Beach' was ruled to be returned to Marina Fistoulari-Mahler, heir of Alma Mahler.

In 2006, Austria returned five paintings by Gustav Klimt, including portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer, from the Belvedere to the heirs of the original owners, following legal disputes.

In 2006, an Austrian arbitration panel decided that Gustav Klimt's portrait of 'Amalie Zuckerkandl' was not looted by the Nazis and did not need to be restored to the heirs.

Egon Schiele's 'Portrait of Wally', confiscated by the Nazis in 1939, was mistakenly returned to the Belvedere Museum after World War II as part of another dealer's collection.

In 2014, the Belvedere was ordered to restore Wilhelm Leibl's 'Farmer's Kitchen / Kitchen Interior' to the heirs of Martha Liebermann, due to Nazi persecution.

In 1996, the World Monuments Fund highlighted the disrepair of the Belvedere Garden and noted inadequate postwar restorations affecting the 'sala terrena' and grand staircase.

Multiple restoration plans in the late 1990s modernized the nation's museums, returning the Belvedere gardens to their original Baroque character and significantly renovating the 'sala terrena' and grand staircase.

Architect Susanne Zottl transformed the Orangery into a modern exhibition hall, preserving its original Baroque fabric. This venue opened in March 2007.

The Lower Belvedere was redesigned by architect Wilfried Kuehn, moving the entrance back to the cour d'honneur. It reopened with a new exhibition a few months after the Orangery venue.