In the Footsteps of Spain in Vienna

The Habsburgs ruled Spain for almost 200 years, from Philip I, the Handsome, to Charles II, the Bewitched. A family divided into two lines. Which buildings, influences, objects, paintings and sculptures did the Spanish side leave behind in Vienna? And which ones do we still see today?

Join me in search of Spanish traces in Vienna: our tour begins in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where we’ll follow the treasures of Charles V and his son, Philip II, in the Kunstkammer. We’ll then move on to the picture gallery to take a closer look at selected works by Bernhard Strigel,

Velázquez, Coello, Martínez del Mazo and much more. And we’ll shed light on the connections between Austria and Spain.

After visiting the museum, we walk across Heroes’ Square towards the Schweizerhof, to the Renaissance portal by Pietro Ferrabosco, which is dedicated to Charles V’s brother, Ferdinand I.

We learn the history of the origins of the Spanish Riding School, explore the Stallburg and end at the National Library with Maria Theresa’s father, Archduke Charles, who lost the Spanish crown to the Bourbons in the War of the Spanish Succession.