Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663 - 1736), the most brilliant military mind of his age, commissioned Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt to design and build this garden palace as a summer residence outside the walls of the city. The palace, one of the most exquisite Baroque structures in the world, consists of two palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere). A majority of the rooms were adapted to house the Austrian Gallery.

Upper Belvedere (Oberes Belvedere):
Austrian Gallery of the 19th and 20th Centuries

In the Upper Belvedere, the Austrian Gallery of the 19th and 20th Centuries shows a marvelous collection of Austrian as well as international art from the last two centuries: The highlight is "Vienna around 1900 and the Art of the Classical Modern" featuring the largest collection of Klimt paintings (including his gilt pictures The Kiss and Judith), and a number of works by Egon Schiele.

It also contains prominent works of the French impressionists, the most important paintings of the Viennese Biedermeier era (with works by Waldmüller, Amerling, and Fendi) and major paintings by Romako, Makart, Boeckl, Wotruba, Hausner, Lehmden, Hundertwasser and many others.

Lower Belvedere (Unteres Belvedere):
Museum of Medieval Art and Baroque Museum

The Baroque Museum contains the world's most comprehensive collection of works by Maulbertsch, Messerschmidt and Donner (among them, the original statues from the Donner Fountain on Neuer Markt). The Museum of Medieval Austrian Art in the Orangery of the Lower Belvedere features Romanesque and Gothic wood sculptures and altar panels, among them works by Pacher and Frueauf.