PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL: Moderate
Typical days on your trip:
Vienna
DAY 1
From the airport we’ll go to St. Stephens Cathedral for a tour and Mass. The cathedral has stood in this very spot since the early 13th century (having replaced an even earlier church), but little remains of this Romanesque construction. The Gothic structure standing today was built in the early 1300s. It was here that Mozart was married to Constanze Weber in 1782, and the funeral was held in 1791. The final resting places of some of the Habsburg’s can be found in the catacombs.
After lunch we make our first visit to the Hofburg Palace complex, the Imperial Treasury Monarchical wealth: Vienna’s Hofburg Palace houses the most important treasure chamber in the world, featuring two imperial crowns as well as the Burgundian Treasury and the Treasury of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
After checking into our hotel, there is free time before dinner.
Welcome Dinner – hotel Vienna (or nearby)
DAY 2
Vienna
St. John the Baptist Church (Malta) – Mass – It is associated with the Knights Hospitaller of St John and has been a significant site for the Order of Malta since the 13th century. Inside the church, there are over 40 original escutcheons of important Knights of the Order of St John. The church also houses a baroque altar and a painting of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, created by Johann Georg Schmidt in 1730.
We return today to The Hofburg – Focus on the Hapsburg’s Dating back to the 15th century, the Imperial Palace (Hofburg) was among the lavish imperial residences of the Hapsburg dynasty. Redesigned by Empress Maria Theresa in the 18th century, it’s a feast of baroque and rococo style, adorned with gleaming marble, glittering gold, and elaborate frescoes.
Capuchin Church – Kaisergruft The Capuchin Church contains the Imperial Crypt also called the Capuchin Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), a burial chamber beneath the church and monastery. Since 1633, the Imperial Crypt has been the principal place of entombment for members of the House of Habsburg. The bodies of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are deposited here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. The most recent entombment was in 2011. The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and five heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo. Some of the dozen resident Capuchin friars continue their customary role as the guardians and caretakers of the crypt, along with their other pastoral work in Vienna.
Dinner – own arrangements
DAY 3
Vienna
Augustinian Church – Mass – In 1327, Duke Frederick the Handsome (Friedrich der Schöne) founded this church with a cloister for the Augustinian friars. In 1634, the Augustinerkirche became the parish church of the imperial church and so many Habsburg weddings took place there, A new side altar was added in 2004, dedicated to Emperor Karl I of Austria (1887–1922) who is on the path to being recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. The Loreto Chapel, to the right of the main altar, holds the silver urns containing the hearts of Habsburg rulers, while their bodies are kept in the Imperial Crypt. Herzgruft contains the hearts of 54 members of the imperial family.
10:30 Schoenbrunn Palace & Chapel the area was used as a hunting and recreation ground. Eleonora Gonzaga, who loved hunting, spent much time there and was bequeathed the area as her widow’s residence after the death of her husband, Ferdinand II. From 1638 to 1643, she added a palace to the Katterburg mansion, while in 1642 came the first mention of the name “Schönbrunn” on an invoice. The origins of the Schönbrunn orangery seem to go back to Eleonora Gonzaga as well. The Schönbrunn Palace in its present form was built and remodelled during the 1740–50s during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa who received the estate as a wedding gift. Franz I commissioned the redecoration of the palace exterior in the neoclassical style as it appears today.
The Belvedere. Is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district of the city, on the south-eastern edge of its centre. It currently houses the Belvedere museum known in German as the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (in English, referred to both as the Belvedere Museum and Austrian Gallery). The grounds are set on a gentle gradient and include decorative tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures, and majestic wrought iron gates. The Baroque palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy.
The Belvedere was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling Habsburg dynasty. This period of prosperity followed on from the commander-in-chief Prince Eugene of Savoy’s successful conclusion of a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire.
MedSeas has full itineraries available as part of the materials supplied for those who join the tour.
